LAUSR

Abstract In Muweis, a town in Meroe Empire, located 50 km south of the capital along the Nile River, pedestrian surveys revealed the presence of iron slags on the surface of a mound. Two trial excavations were carried out. Over 6 tons of smelting slags were collected, and smithing evidence was discovered both in the smelting area and in the settlement area. The analysis carried out make it possible to clarify the technical characteristics of the metallurgical activity in the 2nd–4th centuries AD. ICP-MS analysis of smelting slags and multivariate statistical treatments led to the determination of the chemical signature of the slags produced in Muweis. The discovery of two smithing areas, refining and smithing iron, emphasises the importance of smithing in the town and shows that a large part of the inhabitants of Muweis may have been involved in the smelting and smithing activities.