This work presents a new analytical and metallographic examination of fragmentary objects and components from Igbo-Ukwu, eastern Nigeria dating to approximately the ninth to twelfth centuries AD. These objects are thought to be part of the early accidental discoveries within the compound of Isaiah Anozie, collected in 1939 by the local District Officer, Frank Carpenter, in Igbo-Ukwu. As such, they pre-date the excavations undertaken by Thurstan Shaw and his team in 1959–1960 and 1964, and therefore have no primary archaeological context. The accidental and excavated finds from the site of Igbo Isaiah formed part of the contents of what is believed to be a storeroom for regalia. Previous analytical and metallographic studies on the copper alloy objects from Igbo-Ukwu have concluded that they were predominantly lost-wax (cire perdue) castings of bronze or leaded bronze. The present study establishes that while some of the fragmentary objects were cast, many of the components of composite objects, including wires, twisted handles, chain links, and bosses (spiral ornaments), had been expertly hammered into shape and annealed. Furthermore, the hammered items tended to be unalloyed copper whereas the cast objects were alloyed metal. This demonstrates that the Igbo-Ukwu smiths were fully aware of the properties of the metals they were using and made careful decisions about the selection of these metals and the choice of techniques used to produce specific objects and/or components. The trace element composition of the pieces indicates that most of the metal is likely to have come from the nearby source at Abakaliki.

这项工作对来自尼日利亚东部伊博-乌库的零碎物品和部件进行了新的分析和金相检查，其年代可追溯到大约公元 9 至 12 世纪。这些物品被认为是 Isaiah Anozie 大院早期意外发现的一部分，1939 年由 Igbo-Ukwu 的地方官员 Frank Carpenter 收集。因此，它们早于 Thurstan Shaw 及其团队在 1959-1960 年和 1964 年进行的发掘，因此没有主要的考古背景。Igbo Isaiah 遗址的意外和挖掘发现构成了据信是王权储藏室内容的一部分。先前对 Igbo-Ukwu 铜合金物体的分析和金相研究得出结论，它们主要是失蜡（cire perdue ) 青铜或含铅青铜铸件。目前的研究证实，虽然一些零碎的物体是铸造的，但复合物体的许多部件，包括金属丝、扭曲的手柄、链节和凸台（螺旋装饰品），都经过专业锤打成型并退火。此外，锤打的物品往往是非合金铜，而铸造的物品是合金金属。这表明 Igbo-Ukwu 铁匠充分了解他们所使用的金属的特性，并在选择这些金属以及选择用于生产特定物体和/或组件的技术时做出谨慎的决定。这些碎片的微量元素成分表明，大部分金属很可能来自附近的 Abakaliki 资源。