Did you know that the Great walls of Benin were four times longer than the Great Wall of China and consumed a hundred times more material than the Great Pyramid of Cheops?
The walls of Benin City and its surrounding kingdom were a man-made marvel described as “the world’s largest earthworks prior to the mechanical era”.
The astounding city was a series of earthworks made up of banks and ditches, called “Iya” in the Edo language, in the area around present-day Benin City.
The walls consisted of 15 kilometers of city Iya and an estimated 16 000 kilometers in the rural area around Benin.
The walls stood for over 400 years, protecting the inhabitants of the kingdom, as well as the traditions and civilisation of the Edo people.
The Greatest Walls of Benin, one of Africa’s ancient architectural marvels, were destroyed by the British Colonizers in 1897.
The walls of Benin City and its surrounding kingdom were a man-made marvel described as “the world’s largest earthworks prior to the mechanical era”.
The astounding city was a series of earthworks made up of banks and ditches, called “Iya” in the Edo language, in the area around present-day Benin City.
The walls consisted of 15 kilometers of city Iya and an estimated 16 000 kilometers in the rural area around Benin.
The walls stood for over 400 years, protecting the inhabitants of the kingdom, as well as the traditions and civilisation of the Edo people.
The Greatest Walls of Benin, one of Africa’s ancient architectural marvels, were destroyed by the British Colonizers in 1897.
