DR Congo - Garamba National Park (PNG)

"Located in the far north-east of the DRC, the Garamba National Park (PNG) was created in 1938. It protects a block of very open savannahs, covering 512,736 ha. It backs onto the border of South Sudan and is surrounded by three hunting estates created in 1974. To the west, the Azande DC covers 405,294 ha. In the south, the Gangala-na-Bodio DC covers 377,367 ha. To the east, the Mondo-Missa DC covers 182,762 ha. The whole, the Garamba complex, therefore covers 1,478,159 ha. In 1980, the PNG was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List, mainly because it was home to the last population of the northern white rhino Ceratotherium simum cottoni. This species has not been seen in the wild since 2008 following uncontrollable poaching. However, the PNG has other values ​​which give it exceptional universal value. It represents in fact the largest relatively intact protected area in the north of the DRC and is the richest protected area in this region. It is highly representative for the mosaic transition between the northeastern Congolese forest and the Sudanese savannahs. It includes the full range of habitats that characterize this transition and, with the exception of the disappearance of the wild dog and the northern white rhino, its fauna is complete and its savannah ecosystem is functional."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

DR Congo - Lomami National Park (PNL)

"Located in the eastern part of the central basin of the Congo River, the Lomami National Park (PNL) was created in 2016, protecting a block of 8,874 km2 of dense equatorial forest with hydromorphic savannahs to the south and surrounded by a buffer zone. of 22,000 km2. Explorations of the region, which only began in 2007, quickly revealed an unexpected diversity of fauna and flora; not only a significant representation of the endemic fauna of the DRC, more than in any other protected area, but also two new species of monkey have been discovered there. The diversity is amplified by the isolation produced by the route of the Lomami, a large tributary which flows in parallel with the Congo River with other smaller parallel rivers in their interfluve. The proportion of endemics indicates the particular aspect of its fauna, of which 7 of the 13 primate species are unique to Congo and 4 are protected in no other protected area. The bonobo, okapi and Congolese peacock are flagship species of Congo and all are in the LNP, as well as a significant population of forest elephants."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

DR Congo - Matupi caves

The Matupi Cave is one of the major archaeological sites in sub-Saharan Africa. He delivered an occupation sequence spanning more than 40,000 years. The deepest levels are dated between 32,000 and> 40,700 before the present. They provided one of the oldest microlithic industries in the world. The lower levels (between 140-185 cm) are relatively poor in lithic remains. They are dated between 21,000 and 32,000 before the present. The average levels (between 65-140 cm) are dated between 12,000 and 21,000 before present. Very rich in lithic material, they also delivered a pierced stone "Kwé" decorated. The upper levels deliver a microlithic industry of the Recent Stone Age dated from 3,000 to 12,000 before the present, topped by Iron Age levels.

DR Congo - Dimba and Ngovo caves

DIMBA The cave of Dimba has delivered the longest archaeological sequence of Bas-Congo (ex-Zaire). The deposits at the entrance were dated 18,000 years before our era: 18,050 ~ 650 bc (Hv 6255). Wildlife remains and stone tools from the Late Stone Age are associated with this radiocarbon dating. The survey that delivered these results has been interrupted to a depth of -3.2 m, but there is the possibility of even older archaeological levels beyond. The upper levels of the entrance and a large embankment located more than one kilometer from the entrance have yielded an abundant so-called Group Vl or Ngovo Group ceramics, characteristic of the transition period which, at the end of the Age of the Stone, sees the beginnings of the production of food appear. Polished tools have also been discovered associated with this ceramic which is dated to Dimba from the last century before our era (85 - 130 bc - Hv 6257). In the entrance, on the surface and on the first 15 cm, are found many fragments of pottery from the Iron Age, dating mainly to the 16th - 17th centuries. NGOVO An archaeological deposit of 2 to 15 cm located some 210 m from the entrance has delivered in abundance of pottery known as Group VI or Ngovo Group, as well as polished tools. Dated from the last two centuries before our era (Hv 5258: 195: t 45 bc, Hv 6258: 85 ~ 65 bc), this archaeological site is the typical site of the industry of transition between the Stone Age and the Iron Age which extended over a good part of Bas-Congo

DR Congo - Depression of the Upemba

This vast depression has delivered the largest cemeteries known south of the Sahara. More than 40 archaeological sites have been listed, but only six of them have been partially excavated so far. Their study makes it possible to trace the complete sequence of the occupation of the region over more than two millennia and thus to reconstruct the history of a major ethnic group of Central Africa: the Luba. The chronology based on more than 55 radiocarbon and thermoluminescence dates is thus established in the northern half of the depression: - Age of the recent stone 2.340 ~ 145 bp - Kamibambian 7th century AD - Ancient Kisalan 8th - 10th centuries - Classical Kisalian 10th - 12th centuries - Kabambian A 13th - 15th centuries - Kabambian B 16th - 17th centuries - Luba recent 18th - 20th centuries. Katotian flowers south of the depression during Kisalian.