Lejja is a community comprising 33 villages in
Enugu State
Enugu State ( ig, Ȯra Enugu) is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by the states of Benue and Kogi, Ebonyi State to the east and southeast, Abia State to the south, and Anambra State to the west. ...
of South-Eastern
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
. It is populated by the
Igbo people
The Igbo people ( , ; also spelled Ibo" and formerly also ''Iboe'', ''Ebo'', ''Eboe'',
*
*
* ''Eboans'', ''Heebo'';
natively ) are an ethnic group in Nigeria. They are primarily found in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States. A s ...
and located about 14 Kilometers from
Nsukka
Nsukka is a town and a Local Government Area in Enugu State, Nigeria. Nsukka shares a common border as a town with Edem, Opi (archaeological site), Ede-Oballa, and Obimo.
The postal code of the area is 410001 and 410002 respectively re ...
. It is the location of a prehistoric archaeological site which contains iron smelting furnaces and slag dated to 2000 BC.
The village square at Otobo ugwu which is likely the first village square in lejja contains over 800 blocks of slag with an average weight of between 34 and 57 kg. Geophysical investigations have Located buried iron slag in several other locations in the community.
Further reading
*Museums, archaeologists and indigenous people: archaeology and the public in Nigeria
by CHIDOZIE S. AGU and CHUKWUMA, C. OPATA, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA
See also
*
Opi (archaeological site)
Opi is a community in Enugu State of South-Eastern Nigeria. It is populated by the Igbo people and located in Nsukka
Nsukka is a town and a Local Government Area in Enugu State, Nigeria. Nsukka shares a common border as a town with Edem, ...
*
Archaeology of Igbo-Ukwu
External links Lejja, iron smelting kingdom
References
{{Igbo topics
Archaeological sites in Nigeria
Archaeological sites of Western Africa