The United States has awarded a $125,000 grant to the Centre for Memories in Enugu State to preserve and digitally document the historic Lejja Iron-Smelting Site, believed to be about 4,000 years old.

The grant, provided through the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP), will support the conservation, 3D digital documentation and physical preservation of the archaeological site.

The U.S. Consul General, Brandon Hudspeth, launched the project in Lagos on Monday, describing the Lejja site as important evidence of Nigeria’s long history of technological innovation.

Hudspeth said the initiative formed part of the longstanding partnership between the United States and Nigeria to protect and promote the country’s cultural heritage.

“The United States has invested approximately $1.2 million in cultural heritage preservation projects in Nigeria over the past five years, primarily through the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation,” he said.

“This is not aid; this is a strategic economic intervention that advances the interests of Americans, Nigerians, and the global community.”

The project, titled “Nchekwaba: Lejja Iron-Smelting,” will be implemented by the Centre for Memories under the leadership of its Executive Director, Iheanyi Igboko, a U.S. exchange programme alumnus.

According to the U.S. Mission, the project will preserve not only the archaeological remains at Lejja but also the oral histories, traditions, community knowledge and practices associated with the historic site.

Igboko said the initiative would bring together existing research and community knowledge while establishing the technical and institutional framework required to preserve Lejja for future generations.

“Lejja was not discovered by this project – the community was already there, the researchers were already there, and the knowledge was already there,” he said.

“Our role is to bring these efforts together and build the institutional and technical framework through which Lejja can be preserved and shared with the world.”

The year-long project builds on the Cultural Heritage Forward programme, funded by the U.S. Department of State in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution.

The programme connects Smithsonian experts with Nigerian museum professionals and community-based heritage practitioners to exchange expertise and strengthen efforts to preserve the country’s cultural heritage.

The project launch was attended by the Enugu State Deputy Governor, Ifeanyi Ossai, alongside representatives of the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy; National Commission for Museums and Monuments; International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) Nigeria; Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art; and the Centre for Memories.

The United States and Nigeria also cooperate under a Cultural Property Agreement signed in 2022.

The agreement restricts the importation of certain Nigerian archaeological and ethnological materials into the United States as part of efforts to combat the looting and trafficking of cultural property.

The U.S. Mission said discussions had begun with Nigerian officials on extending the agreement for another five years, describing the move as further evidence of Washington’s commitment to protecting Nigeria’s cultural heritage.