Investigating the Source and Distribution of Iron Raw Materials at Taruga Smelting Sites, Abuja FCT

The Taruga iron smelting sites in Abuja Federal Capital Territory, associated with the Nok Cultural Zone and dated to the early to mid-first millennium BCE, constitute the earliest securely dated evidence for iron production in sub-Saharan Africa, making them sites of exceptional global significance for the prehistory of metallurgy. Despite their importance, the sourcing of iron ore raw materials used at Taruga and the spatial organization of ore procurement and distribution within the smelting landscape have not been subjected to systematic archaeometallurgical investigation. This study investigates the source and distribution of iron raw materials at Taruga using a multi-analytical approach combining geological field survey for ore outcrop characterization, geochemical analysis of iron ore samples and associated slag using portable X-ray fluorescence and laboratory ICP-MS, and spatial analysis of ore procurement distance relative to smelting furnace distributions. Geological survey identifies three ore outcrop localities within fifteen kilometres of the principal furnace concentrations, with distinct geochemical signatures enabling provisional source attribution. Geochemical comparison between furnace slag samples and ore outcrop signatures indicates that all three ore sources were exploited, though one source accounts for a significantly higher proportion of the slag geochemical signal, suggesting a primary ore procurement zone supplemented by secondary sources. The spatial analysis reveals no obvious correlation between ore source proximity and furnace density, suggesting that factors other than raw material access governed furnace placement. These findings inform understanding of the economic and logistical organization of what may be the world's earliest iron smelting industry. Keywords: iron smelting, Taruga, raw material sourcing, archaeometallurgy, Abuja FCT.