Villages of the Nsukka uplands with vast heaps and blocks of iron slag from smelting furnaces; Lejja's village square holds hundreds of slag blocks.
Radiocarbon dates from these sites run from the first millennium BC into the second millennium AD (Okafor's work), so iron smelting is an old and probably living craft here in 1200. The smiths of the Awka and Nsukka country supplied much of Igboland.
Who holds it
- Title
- Village elders
- Since
- not applicable
- Confidence
- low
Lord in 1200
The village councils of the northern Igbo (no lord).
How things stand that morning
Self-governing villages.
Council
Village and lineage elders.
Communities
Northern Igbo.
Fairs and markets
Igbo four-day week markets.
Trade and crafts
Iron smelting and smithing.
Places of note
- Lejja: Lejja lies a few kilometres west of Opi; its square holds the slag blocks.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Archaeology (Okafor and others), broadly dated.
On the map: Point.
Sources and studies
- E. E. Okafor, 'New evidence on early iron-smelting from southeastern Nigeria' (1993) and later papers; from the researcher's knowledge
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.