Early metal smelting in Aksum, Ethiopia: copper or iron?

Archaeometallurgical analysis of 3rd/4th century A.D. remains from Aksum, Ethiopia, reveals evidence of highly efficient iron smelting using the bloomery process and slag tapping furnaces, rather than copper smelting. Chemical and mineralogical examinations confirmed that lateritic iron ore with at least 80 wt% FeO was processed, producing one unit of iron metal per unit of slag with minimal furnace wall erosion. The study also identified distinctive spinel zoning patterns, indicating strongly reducing conditions during smelting. This finding challenges previous assumptions about early metallurgical practices in the region and provides new insights into the technological sophistication of Aksum's ancient metallurgy.

Severin, T., Rehren, T., & Schleicher, H. (2011). Early metal smelting in Aksum, Ethiopia: copper or iron? European Journal of Mineralogy, 23(6), 981–992. https://doi.org/10.1127/0935-1221/2011/0023-2167