The Kingdom of Benin in southern Nigeria had an 11-mile wall system surrounding its capital, which was ruled by the Oba of Benin. The walls were the largest earthwork project before the mechanical age but were destroyed during the Benin Expedition of 1897 by the British Empire. The walls covered an area of 2,500 square miles and were described as the greatest archaeological phenomenon on the planet.
The Great Wall of China may be the world’s most famous fortification system, but it’s certainly not the only one. For example, an impressive set of walls once surrounded Benin City, the capital of the Kingdom of Benin in what is now southern Nigeria. Ruled by the Oba of Benin, the Kingdom of Benin existed from the 11th century until the 19th century, when it was conquered by the British Empire. For hundreds of years, Beninians surrounded their capital and spanned their kingdom with a series of walls that, by some estimates, measured about 11 miles (19km) in length. The walls of Benin required so much material that Guinness World Records described their construction as the largest earthwork project ever attempted before the mechanical age. Unfortunately, even though the construction of the walls required approximately 10,000 million man-hours, today there are few traces of them.
A mighty West African kingdom, lost to history:
Benin City (originally known as Edo) was nearly destroyed during the Benin Expedition of 1897. The city was burned and looted as a punitive measure carried out by some 1,200 British soldiers under the command of Admiral Sir Henry Rawson, and the kingdom became part of the ‘British Empire.
According to author Fred Pearce, Benin’s walls covered an area of about 2,500 square miles (6,500 sq km), including the kingdom’s capital and 500 surrounding settlements. He described them as “perhaps the greatest archaeological phenomenon on the planet”.
In 1691, a Portuguese ship captain described Benin City as “rich and industrious”. Lourenco Pinto said that “Greater Benin” was bigger than Lisbon, with long straight streets, big houses and very little crime.
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