Kingdoms and Monuments of Afre Kh: The Great Walls of Ancient Benin (Nigeria)

Covering over 15000 kilometers encompassing over 6000 square kilometers of the capital of the ancient kingdom of Benin, these legendary walls were the borders that protected against slave raiders and hostile neighbours. Construction of the 18-metre high walls, which are believed to be longer than the Great Wall of China, began around 800 AD and continued until around 1473. The walls were constructed as embankments with moats to which were added streets and manned gates, revealing an intricate design
comprising inner and outer interconnected ring roads.

In 1602, a dutchman named Dierick Ruiters marveled that the throughfares of the city of Benin were up to 7 times wider that those of the main streets in Amsterdam. Measuring about 120 feet in width, the road network comprised 30 streets connecting to the walls at right angles.

Destroyed by the British in 1897, the walls were burnt and broken down following a deadly row between Benin palace guards and visiting British delegates, that left eight Britishmen dead. The British launched an offensive, which defeated the Benin army, plundered the Oba’s palace and burnt down the city, including vandalizing large portions of the walls.

At the height of its glory, the ancient Kingdom of Benin spread its influence from Onitsha in south-eastern Nigeria, through south-western Nigeria to cover modern day Benin Republic, Togo, and into the modern nation of Ghana.

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