Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, is a Nigerian city with a long and rich history. However, much of its distant past is not well known. Archaeology is now uncovering more of this history and the relationships of Ilorin to other ancient parts of the Yoruba world.
Situated in north-central Nigeria and predominantly Yoruba-speaking, Ilorin gained prominence in the late 1700s. It was a significant northern province of the Oyo empire, which was active between the 1500s and early 1800s.
Thanks to its strategic location between savannah and forest regions of present-day Nigeria and its connection to the Oyo empire, Ilorin evolved into a centre of inter-regional trade networks, craft production and cultural exchanges by the 1800s. The city was renowned for trade in horses, agricultural produce, and crafts such as lantana stone beads, textiles and pottery within the Yoruba-Edo worlds and across west Africa. Ilorin also served as a trading hub for enslaved people.
In addition, in the 1800s, Ilorin became integrated into the Islamic emirate system under the Sokoto caliphate. This integration resulted in significant socio-political changes and contributed to the expansion of the city.
While oral traditions and written sources have preserved much of Ilorin’s history, the longer-term occupation of the city before the 1800s remained largely unknown until recent archaeological research. This contrasts with the situation in Ilorin’s surrounding communities like Igbominaland, Ede and Osogbo, where archaeological studies have provided insights into their settlement histories.
My doctoral research on Ilorin archaeology sheds new light on this period. It uncovers over 1,000 years of human occupation in the city before the 1800s. This research started the process of unravelling the city’s previously unknown settlement history and its connections to wider Yoruba worlds. The material evidence from this research takes various forms, including material technology, settlement patterns, architecture, rituals and food.