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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 ...
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] The ancient walls in the Benin Kingdom were transformed to the access point or gates to the city.
Fortification walls between Mali Ston and Ston were built in 14th and 15th centuries, at the isthmus of the Pelješac peninsula, to the north of Dubrovnik; 890 meters long town wall and 5 km Great Wall outside the town Ston. Šibenik: yes Trogir: yes good City gate Zadar: yes good Zadar retains about half of its wall.
Within the walls were villages separated by fields, several royal palaces, a market-place and a large square containing the barracks. The average thickness of the walls was about 0.5 m (1 + 1 ⁄ 2 ft), which maintained cool temperatures inside the palace rooms. [13] Each palace had a distinct design to suit the whims of the kings.
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with towers, bastions and gates for access to the city. [1]
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:
The royal palaces were fortified with a nearly square mudbrick wall that was 20 feet high. The flanks reached almost 1 mile as blockhouses were built on each wall. [4] After several attempts, the French conquered the kingdom on 16 November 1892, prompting King Béhanzin to torch the city and flee northward.
They established themselves in the area that currently corresponds to southern Benin, until c. 1600, when three brothers — Kokpon, Do-Aklin, and Te-Agdanlin — split the rule of the region amongst themselves: Kokpon took the capital city of Great Ardra, reigning over the Allada Kingdom, while his brother Do-Aklin founded Abomey (which would ...