Scientists find 2,400-year old iron workshops in Africa (1945900)
Scientists have long been puzzled by the history of iron-metal metallurgy sub-Saharan Africa. A newly-studied site in eastern Senegal provides one of the most clear windows into this ancient technology change.
Archaeologists in Senegal have discovered an ironworking shop that has operated for over 800 years.
This workshop operated from the fourth century B.C. The workshop was active from the 4th Century B.C.
to the fourth century C.E. This is a long period of time for a similar facility. This site offers a rare look into how African societies in the early days produced iron and kept it.
The discovery, led by scientists from the University of Geneva sheds light on sub-Saharan Africa’s origins and history of metallurgy. Evidence has been sparse and controversial in this region for a long time.
These findings may change our perception of how iron technology developed in Africa.
A century-old metallurgy puzzle solved
Archaeologists discovered an iron-smelting shop in 2018 at the site Dide West 1 in the Faleme River Valley in eastern Senegal. The workshop was exceptionally well preserved.
This workshop is made up of an enormous heap of around 100 tons of slag and a semicircular array of 30 “tuyeres”, which are clay pipes used to channel air into furnaces. It also contains 35 circular furnaces, each about 30 cm in depth. The iron and steel production in this workshop was probably done on a smaller scale, to satisfy local demands.
The aerial view shows an interesting deposit of used tuyeres arranged into two semicircles. (c) Camille Ollier
Melissa Morel is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Laboratory of Archaeology of Africa & Anthropology at the Faculty of Science, UNIGE. This site, with its unique technical characteristics, age and exceptional preservation state, is one of a kind.
This site offers an opportunity to examine the evolution and continuity of a long-term iron smelting process.
Researchers have been studying the old and new techniques used by potters and blacksmiths of Faleme Valley since 2012. The researchers discovered ancient traditions of iron-smelting. The layout, design of the furnace, and the waste materials at the DDW1 point to the FAL02 traditions. The FAL02 tradition used circular small furnaces, removable chimneys, and large clay tuyeres.
These tuyeres were different from the typical ones, as they had many small holes connected to each other by ducts on the side, which allowed airflow down into the furnace.
A unique aspect was the packing of seeds from palm nuts, which had never been done before. This tradition has remained largely unchanged for hundreds of years, demonstrating the technical and cultural decisions made by early ironworkers.
Nagaland has evidence of ancient iron technology
Now, the team is studying sites across Senegal in order to compare melting methods and understand ironworking’s spread. Only a few sites in West Africa from the 1st millennium BCE are well-documented.
Archaeologists are able to reconstruct an ancient portrait by sorting through clay and slag.
They were able to recreate the imagination and fire of ancient metalurgists. Although their furnace was tiny, it has a rich, long history.
Journal Reference
- Morel, M., Lamotte, P., Dianifaba, L. et al. Evolution of an early and long-lasting iron smelting technique at Dide West 1 Faleme Valley in Eastern Senegal.
Afr Archaeol Rev (2026). DOI: 10.1007/s10437-026-09653-z
