Ancient ferrous metallurgy sites of Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso · Africa
About
The Ancient Ferrous Metallurgy Sites of Burkina Faso (French: Sites de métallurgie ancienne du fer du Burkina Faso) are a collection of ancient metallurgy sites across five locations in the Nord and Centre-Nord regions of Burkina Faso, used to extract iron from ore. The oldest of these structures are dated from roughly 800 BC, making them the most ancient known examples of metallurgy in Burkina Faso. In 2019, the sites were registered as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, because of the exemplary evidence of ancient metalworking. Unlike other sites that are listed by UNESCO, these were chosen because it's a clear relationship between direct iron smelting (as opposed to only iron reduction") and early human society. They were able to create an efficient way to mass produce iron during a pre-industrial Africa.
Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.