The Walls of Benin Reconsidered: Interpreting West African Linear Earthworks Using A. J. H. Goodwin’s Unpublished Excavation Data

Abstract

Despite the fame of its manifold art objects and large complexes of linear earthworks, Benin City has witnessed relatively little archaeological research to help contextualize its spectacular artistic and monumental heritage. Meanwhile, urban development has contributed to the destruction and loss of archaeological features, especially its inner earthwork structures, further hampering archaeological research and interpretation. This article responds to these problems by drawing from unpublished data from the archive of South African archaeologist A. J. H. Goodwin, who performed the first ever archaeological excavations at Benin City in 1954–1955. As well as providing a review of literature on the Benin City earthworks, the article also reveals novel evidence of Goodwin’s previously unknown excavation of a prominent gateway in the town’s inner earthwork and uses it to address lingering questions pertaining to the uses, functions, and meanings of these features. The article reviews literature across multiple disciplines and regions that contributes to theorizing the diverse nature of West African linear earthworks and their entranceways, and draws upon this body of comparative material to interpret and contextualize the evidence from Goodwin’s field notes. Based on this analysis of Goodwin’s discoveries, it is argued that these earthworks and their gateways were multifunctional thresholds, combining physical defence and regulation of people with forms of magical protection against spiritual dangers.