ABSTRACT
This chapter presents results of the survey and excavation campaign conducted by the BantuFirst archaeology team in the summer of 2019 within the Idiofa region of the Kwilu Province. Pedestrian survey of the region resulted in the identification of 41 artifact-bearing localities, including ceramic concentrations, iron slag, and lithic artifacts. Excavations at four of these sites revealed two phases of occupation spanning the past 2.2 kya. This includes an Early Iron Age (ca. 146 BCE–226 CE) settlement that is currently the oldest iron producing community south of the Congo rainforest. This chapter focuses on the excavations, in particular the stratigraphy and archaeological contexts of each site.
