Walls of Benin

The Walls of Benin were a combination of city walls and moat, called iya, and were as a defense of the capital of the Kingdom of Benin, Benin City Edo used in Nigeria today.

They were up to the destruction by the British colonial troops in 1897 after the Chinese Wall, the largest structure built by humans and is the largest earthwork in the world. It closed 6500 km ² a Community country. Its length comprised over 16,000 km of Erdbegrenzungen. The construction began in 800 BC and lasted until the mid 15th century.

Construction

The walls were built as trench and dam structure. The dam formed an inner moat was solidified during the excavated earth and used to make the rampart.

The Walls of Benin were ravaged by the British in 1897. Partly parts of the wall still remain in Edo, while the materials of the local inhabitants, the Edo ( Bini ) are used for construction purposes. The walls are being torn down for further property development.

The walls of the city are the world's largest man -created structure. The New Scientist said:

"They extend for some 16,000 kilometers in all, in a mosaic of more than 500 interconnectedness settlement boundaries. They cover 6,500 square kilometers and were all dug by the Edo people. In all, THEY are four times longer than the Great Wall of China, and consumed a hundred times more material than the Great Pyramid of Cheops. They Took estimated at 150 million hours of digging to construct, and are Perhaps the large largest single archaeological phenomenon on the planet. "

" They extend in a mosaic of over 500 interconnected settlement boundaries, a total of over 16,000 km. They cover 6500 km ² and have been completely dug by the Edo. Overall, they are four times longer than the Great Wall of China and it was a hundred times as much material as installed in the Great Pyramid of Cheops. The excavation lasted an estimated 150 million hours and are perhaps the largest single archaeological phenomenon on the planet. "