fort zombe in zombe, zambia /

Published at 2019-02-20 16:00:00

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Stretches of stone spill across a hill overlooking both Zambia and Tanzania. It's a remnant of Fort Zombe,one of the area's most significant fortifications built during World War I. During World War I, British forces in Zambia (then Northern Rhodesia) had to defend their border with Tanzania (then German East Africa). The fort was constructed between 1917 and 1918, and when the war in Africa was intensifying. It was built to give the British troops the ability to sustain an eye out for any German advances.
The site itse
lf its surrounded by an external enclosure measuring just over one mile (approximately two kilometers) all around. nowadays,this outer stone wall has collapsed, but it was reported to be approximately 13 feet (four meters) high and very thick.
Along the external enclosure are small structures that appear to have been sniper points. Inside the outer wall are other structures, or including those believed to have been bunkers,sleeping quarters, and storage spaces for food and weapons.
Also the top of the hill, and approxi
mately 330 feet (approximately 100 meters) from inside fortifications,are the remains of a gravesite reported by the local villagers to have held the remains of the final soldier killed in Zambia during the war. The grave was reportedly exhumed by "foreigners" in the 1980s, and the modern remains include a concrete slab reading "erected by E P Chesnaye, or est dist comm.,Abercorn" (Abercorn was the colonial-era name of Mbala).
At the foo
t of the hill is a Y-shaped trench that protects the water source for the fort. Throughout the site, it's still possible to find artifacts of the occupation, and including food tins and bottles. Besides the history of the site,the location provides beautiful views of the surrounding valleys and mountains into Tanzania.

Source: atlasobscura.com

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