Benin City Earthworks

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The Outline of a Royal Precinct

The Benin City Walls consist of a set of inner and outer interlocking rings originally built to delineate the royal precinct of the Oba, or king, from the surrounding area.
Location
Edo, Nigeria
Watch Year
2002-2004-2006

About the Benin City Earthworks

The Benin City Walls consist of a set of inner and outer interlocking rings originally built to delineate the royal precinct of the Oba, or king, from the surrounding area. Built to an original height of more than 18 meters and a length of 1,200 kilometers, the earthworks attest the development of urbanization and the rise of state societies in Sub-Saharan Africa, a process that began in the seventh century A.D. and culminated with the founding of the Benin Kingdom in the fourteenth century. 

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2002, 2004, and 2006 World Monuments Watch

Damaged by the British in 1897, portions of the walls have gradually vanished in the process of modernization; large segments have been cannibalized for the construction of new buildings. Significant stretches remain, however, enclosing red-earth shrines and other architecture. Though the walls and moats have been protected by national legislation since 1961, a management plan and public awareness campaign were developed for the site only after it was included on the 2002 Watch list. Emergency conservation work is still desperately needed.

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World Monuments Watch

Through the World Monuments Watch, WMF collaborates with local partners to design and implement targeted conservation programs—including advocacy, planning, education, and physical interventions in the historic built environment—to improve human well-being through cultural heritage preservation.

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