Isimila Stone Age Site

Isimila is two things next to each other. One is an archaeological site excavated in the 1950s, a former lakebed where Acheulean handaxes, cleavers and other stone tools were found in quantity along with animal bones, dated to somewhere in the range of sixty to a hundred thousand years or older by different assessments. The other is the gully below it, where erosion has cut the soft sandstone into a forest of standing pillars several metres high.

Background

The site, at ca. 1650 meters above sea level, dates to around 500 kya (thousands of years ago), and its lowest layer, the Lukingi member, was laid down between 500 kya and 900 kya. McCleman, a South African amateur archaeologist, spotted the first stone tool and animal bones on May 2, 1951, while travelling by road from Nairobi to Johannesburg. University of Chicago teams excavated widely in the 1957-58 field seasons, and digging continued until 2017. The deposits are approximately 18 meters thick along the Isimila stream, which runs west to the Kipolwi River, itself feeding the Little Ruaha. In 1964 Isimila became the first national historic site under the Antiquities Act.

Source: Wikipedia, "Isimila Stone Age Site"

What's there

• The sandstone pillars - eroded columns standing several metres in the gully.
• The Acheulean tools - handaxes and cleavers left in place at the excavation.
• The excavation trenches - the 1950s cuts through the old lakebed deposits.
• The site museum - a small display of tools and bones found here.

When to go

May to October for the driest walking; the gully paths are slippery in the rains. Mornings and late afternoons give the best light on the pillars. Guides are provided at the gate.

Good to know

The site museum is very basic and the interpretation is thin. Guides are compulsory and their information varies. The walk into the gully is steep and hot.

Nearby

Iringa is northeast, and Ruaha is beyond it.

Key facts