The Benin Empire was one of the oldest and most highly developed states in west Africa, dating back to the 11th century. The Walls of Benin City, originally known as Edo and located in present-day Nigeria, were the world's largest man-made earth structure, and an estimated four times longer than the Great Wall of China. It took an estimated 150 million hours of digging to construct and are perhaps the largest single archaeological phenomenon on the planet. The Guinness Book of Records described the walls of Benin City and its surrounding kingdom as “the world’s largest earthworks carried out prior to the mechanical era”. Large portions of the walls were destroyed by the British in 1897. #benin #westafrica #ancientwonders #lostcities #ancientafrica
