Community Awareness and Understanding of the Origin of Swahili Archaeological Heritage and Ruins along Tanzania’s Swahili Coast: Conservation and Management Issues

The Tanzanian coast has many remains of medieval Swahili settlements dated between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries C.E. In the same region, Neolithic and Later Stone Age sites have also been reported, alongside evidence for Early Iron Working settlements. Swahili culture, and the ruins that can still be seen, have their origins in this rich cultural past. It appears, however, that the present communities along the Tanzanian Swahili coast, and the public, are unaware of this important heritage history. There is a popular belief among them that the origin and influence on the now ruined Swahili settlements came from the Middle East, and it is true that Arab and other travellers described Swahili civilization in their writings. In this article, we explore the communities and researchers’ different perspectives on the origin of the Swahili ruins, focusing on the conservation and management problems this raises. We also analyse the position and role of heritage management institutions in the country towards enhancing community awareness and proper conservation of the ruins. Finally, we propose ways of promoting community awareness of the origin of the Swahili ruins, influencing participation and actions towards their conservation and management.

MYTHS, RITUALS AND RESTRICTIONS OF THE AFRICAN IRON INDUSTRY IN THE 18th CENTURY: THE CASE OF TAAVISA IN NSO’ GRASSFIELDS OF CAMEROON

The peculiarity of the African iron industry is its cultural dimension; where in, symbolism was evident in virtually all the stages of the production chain. With the use of archival, secondary and oral sources, this paper investigated the Taavisa slag heap which revealed that smelting residue was cleared to create space for a royal cemetery and a hut constructed over the grave of Fon (king) Sanggu of Nso’ around 1750. Sanggu was probably the seventeenth Sovereign of the Nso’ Dynasty at Kovifem, who died while in refuge on the peripheries of his kingdom, subjected to Chamba and later Fulani raids. Taavisa was a retreat spot in several situations and developed into a rest palace for reigning Fons of Nso’. Given its strategic location, smelting, pre-forging and sanctity which emanated from iron works, this old iron working site became a place of honour and thus mutated into a shrine. Thus, multidimensional values attached to Taavisa account for Nso’ seizure of the area and subsequent expansion towards its southern boarder Fondoms (Kingdoms). A new element therefore adds to symbolisms attached to the African iron industry that is: a smelting site turned into a royal cemetery.

Archaeology of Igboland, Southeastern Nigeria

Archaeological research began relatively late in southeastern Nigeria compared with other African countries. The site of Igboukwu, despite the remarkable discoveries made there accidentally in 1938, was not investigated thoroughly until 1959. The first systematic archaeological excavations in the region took place between December 1959 and January 1960. The Igboukwu excavations yielded hundreds of glass beads, intricately produced bronze objects, elaborately decorated potsherds, and various iron tools that revealed the artistic ingenuity of the Igbo people. These archaeological findings laid a good foundation for archaeological research in southeastern Nigeria. Subsequently, from 1964 to 1978, human-made tools including hand axes, flakes, cores, polished stone axes, ground stone axes, and microliths were discovered at various locations in the region. At the Lejja, Opi, and Aku iron smelting sites, evidence of slag blocks, tuyere fragments, furnace remains, iron ores, and potsherds are seen on the surface, suggesting large-scale intensive iron-working production in the past. These archaeological remains from stratified archaeological deposits showcase a people with a distinctive past.

Say it in Iron. Symbols of Transformation and Reproduction in the European Iron Age

The European research on iron has traditionally focused on the technical and economic aspects of iron production, However, a view of metal working in a wider regional context shows that it is generally entrenched in symbolic meaning and ritual activity. In this paper, the author employs four ethnographic case studies to show the importance of symbolic and ritual aspects of iron working and how these are intertwined with technological factors. What comes across are also the metaphorical links between pottery vessels, food, and furnaces used to produce iron. When looking at the European material, one can discern the same associations in the ftnds of cauldrons used for offerings of food as in the finds of cauldrons used for offerings of iron, such as iron weapons. The former are placed in a context ofnurturing and human reproduction, while the latter are placed in a context of destruction. This indicates the ambiguity of iron as associated with nourishment-fertility and with destruction and death

Sparks of Life: The Concept of Fire in Iron Working

The author discusses fire as a concept, with an emphasis on traditional iron working and its links with bodily based experiences played out as material metaphors as well as mental conceptions. In East African iron using communities, iron smelting was cloaked in secrecy, seclusion and gendered sexual connotations. An elaborate use of bodily based metaphors guided the use of magic and medicines and created moral laws during periods of smelting. The article will attempt to explain how concepts of fire were related to this. Some preliminary comparisons are made between Greek, Norse and African myths and legends about smiths and their role as 'masters of fire'. Finally, by drawing on case studies based on fieldwork among Fipa and Pangwa blacksmiths and former iron smelters, the author will explore the interconnections between concepts of fire, bodily based metaphors and metal production.

Mappatura delle aie carbonili con immagini derivate da dati LiDAR: il caso di Raggiolo in Casentino

In the medieval period the Casentino was an important center for iron working and for the production of charcoal necessary for this activity. Between XIII and XIV centuries the Guidi family owned various ironworks in the localities of Cetica and Raggiolo. In this area companies of charcoal burners were active and used local forest resources for the production of charcoal. In this study we mapped the old charcoal kiln sites over an area of 1841 hectares located west of the center of Raggiolo. The charcoal kiln sites were mapped by photointerpretation of LiDAR-derived images. The results are discussed on the basis of the historical events that occurred in the study area between the end of the XIII and the first decades of the XIV century.

Spectroscopic Characterization of Iron Slags from the Archaeological Sites of Brâncoveneşti, Călugăreni and Vătava Located on the Mureş County (Romania) Sector of the Roman Limes

Iron slag samples unearthed from archaeological sites lying on the Eastern limes sector of Roman Dacia (the Brâncoveneşti and Călugăreni auxiliary forts and the Vătava watchtower) were studied in order to assess the probability of local iron working (smelting and smithing) during the 2nd–3rd centuries CE. Structural-mineralogic aspects revealed by PXRD analysis and FTIR spectroscopy indicate different slag types corresponding to different iron production and processing stages allowing the supposition that refining of the bloom and processing of the refined iron took place on the sites. The FTIR absorption bands obtained in the spectral domain 2000–400 cm−1 show that mineralogically the samples are constituted mainly of silicates associated with minor quantities of aluminates and carbonates. The fayalite, haematite, and magnetite phases appearing on both the X-ray diffractograms and the FTIR spectra agree with the redox conditions of the slag formation process which result from the Fe3+/Fe2+ ratio determined using the EPR-method. The bulk macro-elemental PXRF and ICP-MS spectroscopy data support the slag typization proposed on the basis of the probable working conditions; trace-elemental bulk composition suggests that the provenance of the raw materials may be different.