A historical survey of Karofi abandoned settlement, Dutsen-Ma, Katsina State, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper is an archaeological survey of Karofi abandoned settlement, which is located in the north-central area of Katsina State of Nigeria conducted from the 5th of January to 30th of March, 2018. Despite Karofi’s large amount of archaeological resources as the survey shows, the area receives little or no attention from researchers. Through ethnographic survey, an effort is made to examine fundamental features of the site with particular reference to the history of the early inhabitants of the area through the collection and analysis of both tangible and intangible remains using an archaeological survey of site. Among the finds identified in this survey are: house and granary foundations, collapsed defensive walls, grinding stones, dye pits, potsherds, remnants of iron slags, cave and rock shelters, among others. The paper suggests that when closely studied, Karofi abandoned settlement will yield great archaeological results.