Pre-colonial iron production in western Uganda: recent research and new perspectives.

Over the past four years at the UCL Institute of Archaeology, the author has been investigating the iron production industries of western Uganda, from the fourteenth century to the modern day. This paper presents the culmination of this body of work, combining the results of survey, excavation and archaeometallurgical analysis, as well as ethno-archaeological interviews undertaken in the field. Through this, the influential role of this important technology within the wider structure of a changing and growing Great Lakes kingdom has been highlighted. Iron became a key resource in Great Lakes Africa – as it did in many regions of the world – particularly from the second millennium AD. Production of iron grew in response to increasing demand for tools and weapons, in turn influencing local and regional environments, trade networks and sociopolitical structures. The research presented here offers reconstructions of the iron production industries of Mwenge, one of the richest centres of iron production within the former Bunyoro-Kitara kingdom. The variation that is apparent in these technologies raises questions as to the organisation and regulation of this trade, and the scope for local innovation and experimentation. When combined with other studies of Great Lakes iron production, it is possible to explore a broader kingdom-landscape of technological change and variation, examining the evidence with an awareness of the movement of people and ideas through and between these political entities. As such, this paper presents a synthesis of recent findings and a summary of the significance of iron within western Uganda as seen through the archaeometallurgical record.