The medieval “Great City of Benin”, first known as Edo and today located in southern Nigeria, dates back to the 11th century and was part of the oldest and most developed empires in West Africa – the Benin Empire.  The scale with which the city was built has often been compared to the Great Wall of China (its walls, in fact, are rumoured to have been four times as long at one point). Art works traced back to the City of Benin are rumoured for their highly skilled craftsmanship. Upon discovery by the Portuguese, Captain Lourenco Pinto was quoted as saying, “Great Benin, where the King resides, is larger than Lisbon … The houses are large, especially that of the king which is richly decorated and has fine columns. The city is wealthy and industrious. It is so well governed that theft is unknown and the people live in such security that they have no door to their houses.”

Bronze Plaques from the Benin Empire to view at the British Museum

Today there are hardly any remnants of these walls that took an estimated 150 million hours of digging to construct. What started with internal conflicts over increasing European intrusion and slavery trade on the Empire’s borders and dubious negotiations ended in total destruction. Benin City was burnt to the ground in all its glory and splendour by the British Forces in 1897. The palace was destroyed and looted of all its magnificent bronze and ivory artifacts.

Today Benin City as it stood in the Benin Empire is almost forgotten. While a modern-day city has been built on its foundations, the Empire has been lost. Over 1,000 bronze artifacts have been scattered all over the world. Many are housed in public and private collections. Some of the bronze artifacts can be viewed in the British Museum, while many others were sold back to Nigeria. The morality behind what has become of these artifacts is still being widely debated.