The archaeology of Igbo-Ukwu concerns an archaeological site located in the Igbo town of Igbo-Ukwu, Anambra State, southeastern Nigeria. Excavations in 1959 and 1964 by Charles Thurstan Shaw uncovered over 700 high-quality artifacts of copper, bronze, and iron, along with approximately 165,000 glass, carnelian, and stone beads, pottery, textiles, ivory objects, cups, and ritual items.
The site consists of three excavation areas: - Igbo Richard - Igbo Isaiah - Igbo Jonah
Findings include ritual vessels, crowns, pendants, staff ornaments, swords, fly-whisk handles, and ceremonial pottery.
Impact on Art History
- Peter Garlake: Compared Igbo-Ukwu bronzes to “the finest jewelry of rococo Europe or of Carl Fabergé.”
- William Buller Fagg: Described them as having “a strange rococo almost Fabergé type virtuosity.”
- Frank Willett: Said they met a standard comparable to Benvenuto Cellini's works.
- Denis Williams: Called them “an exquisite explosion without antecedent or issue.”
- Hugh Honour & John Fleming: Highlighted the water pot in a mesh of simulated rope as “a virtuoso feat of lost-wax casting” more advanced than European bronzes of the same period.
Early speculation assumed foreign influence, but isotope analysis confirmed local metal sources and radiocarbon dating to the 9th century CE — long before European contact. Some beads were traced to Old Cairo, indicating a trade network linking Igbo-Ukwu to Byzantine-era Egypt.
Discovery
- 1938 – Isaiah Anozie accidentally unearthed the first artifacts in his compound.
- 1946 – British colonial officer J.O. Field acquired and published details of the finds.
- 1954 – Kenneth Murray, Surveyor of Antiquities, collected additional pieces.
- 1959–1964 – Shaw’s excavations revealed hundreds of copper/bronze ritual vessels, iron tools, and ornaments.
- 2019 & 2021 – Renewed excavations coordinated by Pamela Jane Smith Shaw uncovered additional pottery, bronzes, and cultural deposits.
Site Layout & Stratigraphy
Location: 366 m above sea level, on a ridge of Nanka sands in the Ameki formation.
Boundaries: Aghomili River (east), Obizi River (west).
Excavation Depths: - Igbo Isaiah – Artifacts at 40–70 cm below surface. - Igbo Richard – Burials, beads, wooden stool, artifacts at 1.75–2.5 m depth. - Igbo Jonah – Ritual pottery, charcoal, animal bones, bronze sculptures; shallower finds in backfilled pits.
Chronology
- Shaw’s 1970 dates: 1075–1110 BP (±100–150 years) → 9th century CE.
- 2022 updates (Daraojimba et al., McIntosh et al.): 10th–13th centuries CE for some contexts.
- Textile AMS dating: 1200–1300s CE for Igbo Isaiah fabrics.
Key Findings
1. Textiles
- Bast fibers (mainly from Ficus trees) and raffia palm fibers.
- Warp density: 24/cm; weft density: 16/cm.
- Likely had spiritual or ceremonial significance.
2. Beads
- ~165,000 beads, mostly plant-ash soda-lime glass.
- Origins: Mesopotamia, eastern Iran, and possibly Saharan trade.
- Carnelian bead sourcing remains under-researched.
3. Metallurgy
- Lost-wax casting using latex instead of beeswax for extreme detail.
- Techniques unknown elsewhere: multi-stage casting, brazing, and linked sections.
- High-silver copper alloys from Abakaliki mines (85–90% of metal).
- Some ores may trace to North Africa.
Significance
Igbo-Ukwu’s finds challenge outdated colonial-era assumptions that advanced metallurgy and art in Africa required European influence. The site demonstrates: - Independent development of complex metallurgy. - Participation in trans-Saharan and trans-regional trade. - High levels of artistic, social, and spiritual complexity in precolonial Igbo society.
References
- Shaw, C.T. (1970). Igbo-Ukwu: An Account of Archaeological Discoveries in Eastern Nigeria.
- McIntosh, S. et al. (2022). AMS Dating of Igbo-Ukwu Textiles.
- Honour, H. & Fleming, J. (2005). A World History of Art.
- Daraojimba, C. et al. (2022). Radiocarbon Dating of Igbo-Ukwu Sites.