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The Royal City of Meroe, ca. 200 km north of Khartoum in the modern-day Republic of the Sudan, was an ancient capital of the Kingdom of Kush. From the 3rd century B.C. to the 4th century A.D., Kushite rulers controlled significant territory from the banks of the Nile at Meroe, in part through their ability to ensure the production of significant quantities of iron. The extensive archaeological remains of Meroitic iron production have been investigated over decades, and recently a series of experimental iron smelts in a replica Meroitic furnace has shed new light on the archaeometallurgical evidence. The data generated during the smelting campaigns has provided an understanding of the type of iron ore used, the construction and operating parameters of the furnace, and the workshop space created by the ancient iron smelters during the later and post-Meroitic times.

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Recent archaeometallurgical investigations in Sudan have provided 97 radiocarbon dates which are used here to present a new chronology for ancient iron production associated with the Kingdom of Kush. Understandings of the formation, stratigraphy and dating of metallurgical waste deposits are used to demonstrate that iron production was practiced in the Meroe area for more than 1000 years, potentially starting as early as the 25th Dynasty period. Likely dates for the emergence and ending of iron smelting are considered in relation to political, economic and socio-cultural developments. The value and potential of this new chronology are explored, for example, in terms of insights into scale of production over time and resulting indications of organisation and management of this ancient technology.Résumé Des recherches archéométallurgiques issus récemment du Soudan ont fourni 97 datations par le radiocarbone. Nous utilisons ces données-ci pour pré-senter une nouvelle chronologie de la production de fer ancienne associée au Royaume de Koush. En analysant la formation, la stratigraphie et la datation des dépôts de déchets métallurgiques, nous démontrons que la production de fer a été pratiquée dans la région de Meroë pendant plus de 1000 ans, commençant potentiellement dès la période de la 25ème dynastie. Nous considérons les dates probables de l'émergence et la cessation la production de fer en relation avec des développements politiques, économiques et socioculturels. Nous explorons la signification de cette nouvelle chronologie en fonction des idées qu'elle peut offrir en ce qui concerne l'échelle de production au fil du temps et l'organisation et la gestion conséquente de cette technologie ancienne.