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The Benin Moat (Edo: Iyanuwo), [1] also known as the Benin Iya, or Walls of Benin, are a series of massive earthworks encircling Benin City in Nigeria's Edo State. These moats have deep historical roots, with evidence suggesting their existence before the establishment of the Oba monarchy. Construction began around 800 AD and continued until ...
The Walls of Benin are a series of earthworks made up of banks and ditches, called I ya in the Edo language in the area around present-day Benin City, the capital of present-day Edo, Nigeria. They consist of 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) of city iya and an estimated 16,000 kilometres (9,900 miles) in the rural area around Benin. [61]
The city is known to be surrounded by wide inner walls made of earthwork and moats. In the 1974 edition of the Guinness Book of Records, it described the Benin City walls as the largest earthwork carried out before the Mechanical period. [1] Part of the walls were believed to be about 65 ft (20 m) tall. [2]
Rawson's troops captured Benin City and the Kingdom of Benin was eventually absorbed into colonial Nigeria. [1] The expedition freed about 100 Africans enslaved by the Oba. [2] [3] The aftermath of the expedition had significant impacts on the Kingdom of Benin, including the looting of cultural artifacts and the exile of the Oba.
The Benin Walls were ravaged by the British in 1897. Scattered pieces of the walls remain in Edo, with material being used by the locals for building purposes. The walls continue to be torn down for real-estate developments. [citation needed] The Walls of Benin City were the world's largest man-made structure. Fred Pearce wrote in New Scientist:
Generally, these are referred to as city walls or town walls, although there were also walls, such as the Great Wall of China, Walls of Benin, Hadrian's Wall, Anastasian Wall, and the Atlantic Wall, which extended far beyond the borders of a city and were used to enclose regions or mark territorial boundaries.
Around Benin City (then Edo), Ewuare built significant walls and moats, large boulevards within the city, and clearly divided zones for different craft work. [13] Archeological evidence has found that the walls built around the palace and the city, and even out into the country, were significant constructions taking multiple years to complete. [5]
Oguola was the fifth Oba of the Benin Kingdom, reigning from 1280 AD to 1295 AD.His reign was marked by achievements in fortifying the city of Benin, enhancing its defences, and contributing to the cultural and economic development of the kingdom.