Advanced LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) surveys over the northern Ethiopian highlands have identified a sprawling iron-smelting industrial zone belonging to the later Aksumite Empire. The mapping revealed over 200 massive slag heaps and a sophisticated network of stone-lined canals used for cooling the smelting furnaces. This industrial mega-complex suggests that Aksum was a much larger producer of high-grade iron for the Red Sea trade than previously believed.
The survey also detected residential blocks and defensive bastions that suggest the site was a self-sustaining urban center focused entirely on metallurgy. Archaeologists believe the scale of production at this site could have supplied military hardware and agricultural tools to much of East Africa and the Southern Arabian Peninsula. Excavations are now being planned to recover furnace components and determine the chemical signature of the iron produced here.