Asymmetrical barbed iron projectile point with a bent shaft. This artifact was found in an area that archaeologists interpret as a metallurgical workshop. It was found near--and may have been part of--a large cluster of objects interpreted as a shrine. The (partial?) point has been corroded by rusting. Scale in cm. Length: 9.1 cm. Weight: 11.3 g. Site Ngre Kataa, 6 July 2009.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Provenance:
Ngre Kataa, Mound 6, Unit 48N 8W, Level 6. Piece plot, 5 cm S, 5 cm W, 102 cm bd
Tanged iron blade with pointed tip (left) and rounded shoulders. Two large concretions adhere to the blade's corroded surface. The tang (right) would have allowed the blade to be hafted to a wooden or bamboo shaft or handle. If hafted to a long shaft, it may have been used as a spear (chombo in Nafaanra). This artifact was found closely associated with a copper alloy twinned figurine, an iron bangle, a rounded quartz pebble and several other objects, which archaeologists interpret as a shrine cluster. The cluster was placed among metal-working features in a metallurgical workshop. Scale in cm. Length: 8.6 cm. Weight: 12.6 g. Site Ngre Kataa. 19 July 2008.
A circular iron bangle, made from a rounded iron rod with abutting ends (bottom of photo). The bangle's surface is corroded by rust. This artifact was found closely associated with a copper alloy twinned figurine, a tanged iron blade, a rounded quartz pebble and several other objects, which archaeologists interpret as a shrine cluster. The cluster was placed among metal-working features in a metallurgical workshop.Scale in cm. Maximum diameter: 8.1 cm. Weight: 75 g. Site Ngre Kataa. 19 July 2008.
Triangular-headed iron projectile point with a barb at the head's base (left) and a long tang (right). To make an arrow (snini in Nafaanra), the tang was inserted into a straight shaft made of bamboo, reed or lightweight wood to which it was hafted. This artifact was found in an area (mound 7) that archaeologists interpret as a house mound. The projectile point shows signs of corrosion by rusting. Scale in cm. Length: 9 cm. Weight: 9.2 g. Site Ngre Kataa. 7 July, 2008.
Triangular-headed iron projectile point (SF 09-033) with a slightly squared base (left ) and a short tang (right). To make an arrow (snini in Nafaanra), the tang was inserted into a straight shaft made of bamboo, reed or lightweight wood to which it was hafted. This artifact was found close to several anvil/grinding stones in an area (mound 6) that archaeologists interpret as a metallurgical workshop. The projectile point shows signs of corrosion by rusting. Scale in cm. Length: 8.1 cm. Weight: 9.3 g. Site Ngre Kataa. 30 May 2009.
Iron projectile point with an asymmetrical head (left), a single barbed at the base of the head and a small barb on the opposite side along the tang. To make an arrow, the long tang (right) would have been inserted into a shaft made of bamboo, reed or lightweight wood. This artifact was found in an area (mound 6) that archaeologists interpret as a metallurgical workshop. The point has been corroded by rusting. Scale in cm. Length: 15.2 cm. Weight: 13.7 g. Site Ngre Kataa. 2 June 2009.
Triangular-headed iron projectile point with a single barb at the base of its head (left) and a long thin tang (right). To make an arrow (snini in Nafaanra), the tang was inserted into a shaft made of bamboo, reed or lightweight wood to which it was hafted. The artifact shows signs of corrosion. The point was excavated from a deep midden mound in an disturbed by a pig burrow. Scale in cm. Length: 12.4 cm. Weight: 14.2 g. Site Ngre Kataa. 25 June, 2008.
Triangular-headed projectile point with barbs on either side of the head's base (left). Its long tang (right) is bent. To make an arrow (snini in Nafaanra), the tang was inserted into a straight shaft made of bamboo, reed or lightweight wood to which it was hafted. This artifact was found in an area that archaeologists interpret as a metallurgical workshop. The projectile point shows signs of corrosion by rusting. Scale in cm. Length: 9.8 cm. Weight: 10.2 g. Site Ngre Kataa. 5 July, 2008.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Provenance:
Ngre Kataa, Mound 6, Unit 44N 6W, Level 3; piece plot: 67-71 cm S, 142-156 W
A piece of a copper alloy (brass) bar, found in association with burned features that archaeologists interpret as linked to metalworking (left: side view; right, end views). The bar is square in cross-section (right). One end appears finished and has a slight circular depression or dimple (bottom right). The other end (top right) is jagged and appears to be broken from a longer bar. The artifact was recovered from soil associated with an amorphous burned feature, underneath which were a series of burned basins likely created by forging activities. The object is similar in appearance to brass bars known from the Ma'adin Ijafen cache of brass ingots documented by Theodore Monod in eastern Mauritania in the 1960s. As such, this may be the form in which metalworkers got the copper alloys that were worked at the site. Length: 1.7 cm. Weight: 2.8 g. Scale in cm. Site Ngre Kataa. 25 June 2009.
A cluster of burned features is exposed in the northwest corner of excavation unit 50N 8W in an area interpreted by archaeologists as a metallurgical workshop (mound 6). Along the unit's west wall (left in photo) is an amorphous zone of fire-hardened red (Munsell color 2.5YR 3/6) matrix. A piece of brass bar (SF NK 09-293) was found in soil associated with this burned feature. Above and to the right (northeast), two circular burned features are visible in outline. These basin-shaped features had a thin lining of fire-hardened sediment, red to dark red (Munsell 2.5 YR 3/6 & 4/8) in color. The basins were filled with loose ashy sediment and small pieces of charcoal. A sample of burned matrix from feature 1 (top right basin) yielded a thermoluminescence (TL) age estimate of 1500 +/- 40 CE (Univ. Wash. 2455). Further excavation revealed additional basin-shaped features beneath the amorphous burned feature. The excavation unit's northwest corner peg is visible, upper left. View looking north. Site Ngre Kataa. 27 June 2009.