Mapping Sacred Groves with Archaeological Significance in Ekiti State

Sacred groves across Yorubaland represent living cultural landscapes in which ecological preservation and spiritual practice combine to create environments with high archaeological potential, yet they are rarely surveyed systematically by archaeologists. This study maps sacred groves with identifiable archaeological significance in Ekiti State, drawing on satellite image analysis, community-guided field visits, and structured interviews with grove custodians and Ifa priests. Fourteen active sacred groves were identified and visited across seven local government areas in Ekiti, with nine yielding surface archaeological materials including terracotta figurines, iron tools, ceramics, and worked stone. The distribution of material across grove interiors suggests multiple phases of ritual deposit, with some groves serving as continuous depositional contexts over several centuries based on stylistic comparison with dated assemblages from neighbouring sites. The study applies a landscape archaeology framework that treats sacred groves as nodes within a broader network of ritual topography, rather than isolated features, and explores how the spiritual prohibition on grove disturbance has inadvertently preserved subsurface archaeological materials that would otherwise have been destroyed by farming. The research engages with the challenges of archaeological survey in sensitive religious contexts and advocates for a consultative ethics protocol that prioritizes grove custodian consent. It recommends non-intrusive geophysical survey as the primary investigative method for protected sacred contexts. Keywords: sacred groves, Ekiti State, ritual landscape, archaeological survey, Yoruba religion.