Ing'ombe Ilede is an archaeological site located on a hill near the confluence of the Zambezi and Lusitu rivers, near the town of Siavonga, in Zambia.

[2] The site is thought to have been a small commercial state around the 16th century whose chief item of trade was salt.

[1] Ing'ombe Ilede received various goods from the hinterland of south-central Africa, such as, copper, slaves, gold and ivory.

These items were exchanged with glass beads, cloth, cowrie shells from the Indian Ocean trade.

[3] The status of Ing'ombe Ilede as a trading center that connected different places in south-central Africa has made it a very important archaeological site in the region.

They concluded that their new dates did not preclude the possibility of an earlier occupation in the later first millennium CE, followed by abandonment and then reoccupation in the 14th century.

[5] When these results are considered together with material culture comparisons to other sites in the region, McIntosh and Fagan conclude that there is strong evidence that the occupations involving major social differentiation and long-distance trade at Ing'ombe Ilede are not earlier than the late 15th century, suggesting future research should focus on Ing'ombe Ilede's role in 16th century networks.

[1] For example, some burials containing metal crafting tools such as those used for drawing and hammering copper wire were connected to metal craftsmen, who were considered of high social status.There was also evidence of hierarchy at Ing'ombe Ilede; for instance, burial 8 contained a flanged iron gong, a traditional symbol of chieftainship that resembled those found among people of Congo DR ancestry.

[4] Ing'ombe Iledes' central location gave it the best position as a transit point for the inland trade routes from Great Zimbabwe, Copperbelt and Katanga to the Indian Ocean coast.

[8] Items of trade brought to the inland from the Indian Ocean included: glass beads, shell beads, cowrie shells and cloth, while items that came from the Indian Ocean trade route included; ivory, slaves, salt and gold.

Ingo'mbe Ilede become a focal point where traders from various places in south-central Africa came to exchange items.

[3] The ingots at Ing'ombe Ilede came from various places through the inland trade routes and these were shaped in form of crosses.

[1] Spindle whorls made from broken pieces of pottery and perforated with a sharp metal object were discovered at the site to support the local production of the coarse cloth.

Ingombe Ilede contained a large number of ceramics sherds that were reconstructed into complete vessels of various sizes and shapes.

The pottery at Ing'ombe Ilede played an essential role in situating the chronology of burials at the site.

These attributed acted as time markers that helped researchers to situate Ing'ombe Ilede Chronologically.

[1] Also found at the site was indirect evidence, such as a leaf impression of sorghum on a pot sherd from burial 3.Besides, some graves contained iron hoes and axes that pointed to farming.