Preliminary Report of Archaeological Excavation at Oke-Otu Abandoned Settlement in

Otu-Egunbe, Kabba, Kogi State, North-Central Nigeria

By

Joshua Okenwa Uzuegbu (Ph.D)
Humanities Unit
School of General Studies
University of Nigeria, Nsukka
E-mail: [email protected]

&

Anselm M. Ibeanu (Prof)
Department of Archaeology and Tourism
University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Abstract
Otu-Egunbe a community in Kabba belongs to the Okun speaking areas of Kogi State. Prior
to this period, a lot of archaeological studies have been carried out in other towns of Okun
land like Iffe-Ijumu, Ogga and Itaakpa while in Kabba the few studies carried out were aimed
at documenting the history and cultural practices of the people. Thus, an in-depth
archaeological study of the area became imperative to bridge this gap. This work was
therefore motivated by a publication on Daily Sun newspaper of 3rd March 2013 titled “Stone
monolith discovered in Kabba”. The study was carried out using archaeological survey and
collection of oral traditions. The study was carried to identify the type of site, features on the

site and give archaeological perspective to earlier human activities in the area. A multi-
disciplinary approach was used to analyize the cultural materials. The interpretation of the

cultural materials was based on the use of ethnographic data in interpreting excavated
materials.
Keywords: Preliminary, Archaeology, Excavation, Otu-Egunbe, Kab