Igbo for Kids

Treasures of Igbo-Ukwu

A man digs a hole for water and finds bronze treasures more than a thousand years old.

Lesson 1 of 3

The big discovery

In 1938, a man called Isaiah Anozie was digging a cistern (a pit to store water) in the town of Igbo-Ukwu.

Instead of water, he found beautiful bronze objects buried in the earth!

In 1959 and 1960, an archaeologist called Thurstan Shaw dug carefully at the site.

The objects date from around the 9th century. That is more than 1,000 years ago!

Lesson 2 of 3

Tap to see the next step

1. Shape it in wax
The artist carves the whole object in soft beeswax, with every tiny detail.
2. Cover it in clay
Layers of wet clay are pressed around the wax to make a mould.
3. Melt the wax away
The mould is heated. The wax melts and runs out, leaving an empty space in the shape of the object.
4. Pour the metal
Hot, melted bronze is poured in to fill the space.
5. Break the mould
When the metal is cold, the clay is broken open. The bronze treasure is revealed!

Because the wax is “lost” in the process, each object is one of a kind. The mould is broken, so it cannot be used twice.

Lesson 3 of 3

The Igbo-Ukwu bronzes show that people in Igboland were master metal artists more than a thousand years ago.

Their work is full of tiny patterns and details that are amazing even today.

The bronzes help us learn about how people lived, what they believed and how they traded.

They remind us that the history of Africa is full of invention and beauty.

★ quiz

In what year were the Igbo-Ukwu bronzes found? → 1938. Isaiah Anozie found them in 1938 while digging a cistern.

What was Isaiah Anozie digging when he found them? → A cistern for water. He was digging a pit to store water.

What do we call the method of making bronze with a wax model? → Lost-wax casting. The wax melts away and bronze takes its place.

What do you do right after covering the wax in clay? → Heat it so the wax melts out. The wax melts and leaves an empty shape for the metal.

About how old are the bronzes? → More than 1,000 years. They date from around the 9th century.