What Actually is the Largest Man Made Structure?

[@FromNothing]

Get a HUGE 82% Discount on AtlasVPN: get.atlasvpn.com/FromNothing

[@archandset]

pog

[@DreDre3318]

I respect that you claim to not be Afrocentric , to not contribute to Pseudo History, to not subscribe to the "We Was Kings" narrative, and to not being a "Culture Vulture". The confusion started with the label of "Black" being perpetrated on every dark-skinned people by Europeans during colonization. Now, have you spoken to people in Africa or are you just doing research here in America about the continent of Africa? The reason I ask you that question is particularly in regards to people who claim to be Israelites. Contrary to what you believe, there are Igbo Israelites on the continent of Africa in Nigeria that has told African Nigerian people "that everybody needs to go to their own towns and find out where they come from because everybody just assumes they're all the same and they are not" (Google "Biafra" or "Nigerians hate Igbos"). There are still Israelites that keep the practice on the West Coast of Africa and in South Africa. There are so-called Black people in Israel today who know exactly who they are and know that their ancestors were taken during the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Rabbis in Israel are coming forward and admitting this. There are studies done on remains that match so-called African-Americans and they've tried comparing it to so-called Indigenous Africans in which they conclude that they don't match. There are oral and written accounts of their migration into Africa. MULTIPLE SOURCES out there if you want to find them coming from Europeans themselves! The term "Black" was instituted by design. We are not Indians, Moors, Muslims, Egyptians, etc. BUT I do know exactly how classifications of being "Black" have completely caused confusion of identity for so-called African Americans. This isn't about separating oneself from the continent of Africa, it's about finding the truth of our origins. You can't possibly believe that everything is as it should be given all the deception that has been sown in the earth. It'll all be revealed in due time.

[@nobodyexceptme7794]

Another great vid, no more slave trauma and struggle media. Let's represent success and excellence.

[@thelikomagallery5080]

That's what I like about this guy. If anything slavery should just be mentioned in passing not the main history

[@Jkohnson-db9pk]

Great video, man. I like how your channel focuses mainly on the positive side of Sub-Saharan African history. You don't overexaggerate the negative side, like how some people do. Nor do you claim something like "we built the great wall of China", and I love that. I too hope Nigeria tries to preserve what's left of those walls and that African history gets more recognition. Keep it up!

[@captainconundrum8463]

Yeah! There's bad for sure and he's not going to pretend that there isn't, but focusing on it just misses so much of the story.

[@Dennis-nc3vw]

This is the problem I have with a lot of Afrocentrics. They correct ignorance but then go way too far in the opposite direction.

[@IGonnaBeFather]

This is mindblowing. I wish more fiction was based or inspired by Black African cultures and esthetics. Imagine a fantasy epic. Greetings from Sweden!

[@zaprese]

Perhaps he will do a video on lack of authors coming out of Africa over the years.

[@Chigo-nr8jg]

@@zaprese there are a lot of authors, you just don't hear about them. You can investigate and find them

[@wanjikunjoroge8813]

@@zaprese check out this one... Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

[@JDMPYM]

I recommend to you The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winters, fantastic book! And the sequel is even more awesome!

[@supremeio5930]

Amazon Myth of the King - author J.R. Thomas

[@EmilReiko]

The iron currency on the table is a nice touch!

[@charlesspeaksthetruth4334]

Nicely done bro. There's another impressive site in Nigeria that no one really knows about either, it's called *Sungbo's Eredo* ruins. Apparently Eredo's builders may have moved 3.5 million cubic yards of earth and stone during it's construction. About 3 times more than what was used to build the Great pyramid of Giza. A video on that would be nice.

[@safuwanfauzi5014]

Can Sub-Sahara ancient, classical and medieval built like Angkor Wat, Prambanan, Borobudur AND grand sophisticated architecture moment? why? can we be honest that sub-Sahara African do not reach civilisation like Roman, Greece, India, China, Khmer, Malay, Arab, Persia, Maya and Inca. which monument and wonder equal to Europe, Asia and Mesoamerica, what name off sub-Sahara Africa scientists, mathematician, engineer, professor, doctor, philosopher, Roman, European, Arab, India, China, Japan and Persia have all these none in sub-Sahara. not a city like Rome, Beijing, Angkor, Baghdad, London, Paris, Isfahan and Cordoba similar advance in sub-Sahara do video if sub-Sahara before 1850AD that great like Rome, Angkor and Beijing

[@offspring9463]

@@safuwanfauzi5014 Nobody is going to answer your ridiculous question. We don’t need to prove or reach your delusional requirements. If you don’t like it piss off.

[@Morgue12free]

@@safuwanfauzi5014 All people are capable of building great cities and monuments. If they want. Just because the Eskimos live a modest life in remote areas, does not mean they can't build cities and monuments. They simply choose to live that way. More than anything, gigantic monuments and cities are a sign of inequality and greed. All men of capable of perpetrate both.

[@samwill7259]

Why did I not already know this? CMON education system you taught me about the 13 colonies like 8000 times and you couldn't tell me about an entire walled KINGDOM?! friggin school

[@soda8736]

Why would an American school teach you about structures in Africa that aren't even there?

[@samwill7259]

@@soda8736 I dunno, maybe for the sake of the cultural education of nearly 50 million people of African descent who live in this country. We teach the white, feudal history of the white privledged kids (like me) more than fine enough.

[@tylerrobbins8311]

I meant we barely learn american history here and even then it's spotty at best.

[@tylerrobbins8311]

@@soda8736 Everyone should learn about world history, and it's important to know that divergent engineering feats were widespread.

[@unapatton1978]

As a (white) German I am interested in different engineering and craft methods. It is not easy to find information on African methods. And it is not for the lack of said methods. I love to see ingenious ways of dealing with challenges people came up with. True first inventions are quite rare, like it seems writing has been invented thrice throughout history, but the writing systems have been developed to fit different languages and sometimes new systems were thought upon. Until now I have only heard once of the different systems that have sprung up in West Africa.

[@sipp5657]

Great wall of Benin is never talked about ❤️❤️🔥🔥🔥

[@Dennis-nc3vw]

‘With the exception of Australia.’ You forgot Antarctica, bro.

[@Orph3us33]

African history are the lost pages of the human story. 90% of the world knows nothing about Africa outside of Egypt and slavery

[@qjtvaddict]

Sad

[@tylerrobbins8311]

I doubt it's 90% but you're right about African history being neglected.

[@NDR-hn3ue]

*Funny I was talking to someone just last week and told them that Gated Communities are a African Conception. And I mentioned the famous Stone City of Zimbabwe shame that Nigeria (in spite of the wealth of the country) isn't taking a national plan to preserve this.................. archeologically speaking.* *Take a guess who this video is about to be shared with*

[@mch7933]

Indeed there was hardly any West African town that didn't have a gate.

[@abthedragon4921]

Very interesting subject, the Kingdom of Benin is super fun to learn about and like you said, I hope at least some of the walls can be preserved. We can't lose any more major structures from Africa's past.

[@WeWhoSuffer]

Excellent video well done! As a Yoruba man it makes me proud To hear you cover topics of west Africa. As I tell my mentees history is a living entity for to know where you came from is to know when you’re headed and his to know why you were here! The purposeful disenfranchisement and debasing of our black ancestral history Is solely to rob us of our pride and contributions to the world. Please keep making more and more content, you found yourself a lifelong subscriber!

[@redspiritmask]

Great video you taught me some stuff about the Walls of Benin that I wasn't aware of like those keys for instance. Also although I've seen that old Benin illustration before, I've never seen it in color and at such an incredibly high resolution!

[@SamAronow]

Tolkien described such earthen barriers as dikes. It's too bad that they're not being treated with the respect they deserve, but I'm always surprised when earthworks like these survive at all.

[@naywahn]

Do...do the barriers like other barriers?

[@admirekashiri9879]

They were huge I wish we had more art and even 3d models showing whst they may have looked like. 9:27 I discovered this image illustration of the "Walls", a few months ago I always wondered what exactly they looked like. It's a huge shame the Nigerian government doesn't put more effort into preserving and maintaining some of these sites i fear in a few decades they'll be gone all.together. hopefully that doesn't happen.

[@pacmiller7564]

I've never heard of this before it's a very informative video

[@MrSafior]

This walls kind of sound like the Wall that surronded Gallic Oppidum describe by Cesar. Must have been quite the sight to behold.

[@wanjikunjoroge8813]

Love your work. Wish there were tours designed around such structures. Would pay good money for a historical tour of Africa.

[@Zebred2001]

It it a sad fact that most people have a very poor understanding of any history let alone non-Western and non-Asian history. I put this down to the near worthless curriculum of what is laughably called "the Education System." Be that as it may it is also a fact now known to archaeologists and scholars that many pre-industrial agricultural societies have built very large urban centers. These are known across Eurasia, The Middle East, The Mississippi Basin, Sub-Saharan Africa and most recently the Amazon. Kudos to you sir for shining a spotlight on this African branch of human development. I'd like you see you do a video on the underpinnings of this urbanization - sub-Saharan agriculture. My understanding is that it featured a unique suite of crops and that the specific location of its origin has not yet been located.

[@matthewmann8969]

They are still probably being made unannounced, unnoticed, uncovered, and undiscovered yeah

[@hansjohannsen6722]

New sub. Great work bringing hard to find subjects to surface!

[@jaydonnelly5038]

Just discovered this channel and I love your African history videos - love from South Africa 🇿🇦

[@StuckCentrist]

This guy's awesome.

[@gerald1495]

underrated channel

[@cavaugnsharkey2699]

Another banger video as usual!!! 🔥🔥🔥

[@mikepowell2776]

Almost gave this up and would have missed a very interesting video. At 4 minutes in I was wondering when it was going to start.

[@metatron0000]

Good work bro. Keep up good work

[@EvilFandango]

Great stuff, thank you.

[@ashtonfranklin2270]

The great wall of Benin that surrounded the entire civilization which is how the Portuguese described it in the 15, 000

[@KentwaineWillHawk]

Beautiful video explaining the Walls of Benin it’s great to know that Out of all the man made structures and the his of mankind the Longest one was deep in the south of West Africa.

[@bigevil1001]

I saw the title and thumbnail and immediately knew what it was about before I even clicked. I was wondering when we were gonna get to this one. Not if. When.

[@azzlingtonmcazzle9544]

It's a real shame to see that these walls are not being preserved by the Nigerian government, however it's also easy to understand why they must prioritize is this way. Perhaps some art-work and a historical TV series set in Benin, to burn their existence into popular memory? It would be fascinating to see how life went for people who lived in a city that almost seems to have used walls as if they were roads.

[@LuminousSolitude]

Next: 👉🏽 Sungbo's Eredo - the Great Wall of a Yoruba Kingdom.

[@Jason_living_in_hell]

The introduction of this I felt like I was in an Elder scrolls video for one sec but that's because I came here when I saw this on my recommended list right after watching ES vids haha

[@Baamthe25th]

Point taken Though, if we're talking about the biggest structure, it would probably be the electric grid or the road networks.

[@FromNothing]

The record specifically says: "Largest earthen structure prior to the mechanical era." I worded it as such in the video. Roads and power grids don't fit this category.

[@Dennis-nc3vw]

0:59 Finally someone said it

[@Dennis-nc3vw]

Although I think Rosa Parks is overrated. It’s the bus boycotters who deserve the real credit.

[@Nerobyrne]

Is it just me or would Benin city be the perfect setting for an Assassin's Creed game? Aside from that, if the walls enclosed a city, this might make it the biggest castle ever constructed. I guess it would depend on the exact definition of "castle", and just how it was enclosed. But, looking at the blueprints you showed on screen, it totally looks like a medieval castle, only a bit different and much much bigger.

[@WeWhoSuffer]

Yes it would make a great plot for a another AC game; totally agree!

[@Nerobyrne]

@@rory6860 I mean, I agree with you, but I do have dreams ^^ Maybe some day I'll be good enough at game design to make something that goes in that direction.

[@Nerobyrne]

@Lite-Wing Gift obviously you're also going to include surrounding areas

[@nezhaulcoyotl85]

were can one find the wall illustratuon and other reconstructions of benin proper. would love to see an acurate and modern reconstruction. find it interesting that the ditch earth mound complexes utilized perhaps what could be described as defensive greenspace.

[@biko89housebuyer48]

Good work, my brother!

[@THEONLYOBA]

You should also do Sungbo’s Eredo wall of the Yoruba.

[@johnmorley6844]

That video left left me with a totally different impression of what the wall looked like than I had based on sparse and misleading references in other people's videos. This video is the best source I have seen so far by a long mile. My original comment was half way through the video when I heard the Guardian mentioned and was rolling my eyes back in the usual reaction I get to finding out information came from smarmy journos who guess facts to fit their theories. Original comment---> 7.07 "Fred Pearce of the Guardian says..." Leaves me thinking whatever the Guardian said is not actually true. Nothing they say is normally true. Great video though. I'm only nitpicking at the Guardian being used a source (especially when it conflicts with your other sources). It is odd we don't see more about African history when we see plenty about the Chinese, Assyrians, whatever. All these civilisations are not the ancestors of Europeans yet it doesn't stop us finding it interesting. I saw a truly bad take on Nigeria a few days ago where a Canadian libtard was wriiting about it. He blamed all Nigeria's problems on "Centuries of colonisation and slavery. I am pretty sure all his knowledge of Nigerian history is based on him guessing or him reading other libtards guesswork. Our time is a lot better served listening to you relaying facts to us than ignorant pompous lefties ramming their fake history down our throats.

[@itsbeyondme5560]

Can't be. It is a racist right wing person

[@gunjfur8633]

Whats the music at 3:34 ?

[@FromNothing]

Digital Dreams - Epidemic Sound

[@gunjfur8633]

@@FromNothing Im having trouble finding it on youtube, were did you find it?

[@FromNothing]

@@gunjfur8633 It's from Epidemic Sound. A royalty free music website. It's not free.

[@jjw56]

It’s really good to mention other great civilizations of Africa other than the North African countries. You made one little mistake; Rome and Greece were not white (European) countries. Europe claimed them ,Mediterranean countries, in recent history. Really good videos, I subscribed.

[@Dennis-nc3vw]

Mediterranean people can’t be white? So Rudy Juliani and Ron DeSantis (Italian descent) aren’t white?

[@burner555]

​@@Dennis-nc3vw you realise that only after WW1 Irish, Italians and other groups were considered "white"

[@readisgooddewaterkant7890]

I loooove your videos from sweden

[@mch7933]

Ok so a Nigerian historian here giving my input on this topic I have seen people try to extend the length of the Benin walls and moat but if we extend the measurement to include walls around towns that were outside benin city and the oviedo area, it would be incorrect to still call these (now multiples walls) benin wall. Say for instance if we begin to include wall of Akure or Usen or even Sungbo Eredo etc just so we can make up enough length to meet up the initial claim that Benin wall were 4x larger than the Wall of China. Traditionally the Wall of Benin are network of Walls yes, but there is also a clear definition of its expanse...it covered 500 communities plus the capital and completed during the reign of Oba Ewuare I. This would restrict it to the environs of Iwu-Ekiadolor axis in the North to Ughoton (Gwato) then Ugbenu in the South (which are all the main terriorities of the Edo people similiar to the map @ 6:00). It is not the largest of landarea but these are a proud people. Also as stated in the video but cannot be overemphasized - we are so accustomed to calling it the benin wall but it is actually Wall and Moat as not every part of the network included an actual wall, some of it was dugged earth with material from the dugged area serving as supplies for the walls in places where there was a form of wall. Finally, while it is a popular meme in Facebook groups and several blogs and articles carry it, There is no edition of the Guiness book of records that mentions the Benin wall. It is often mentioned that the 1974 Guiness book or records stated it to be the largest earthwork caaried out prior to the mechanical era. There is no such category in the 1974 edition.

[@FromNothing]

While I appreciate the thorough insight on the topic and the detailed breakdown, I have to fact check you on your last paragraph. That's simply not true. It is cited in the Guinness Book of World Records. I even cited the source for that on my website. You are welcome to give it a look. I'm not sure where you heard otherwise.

[@WeWhoSuffer]

@M CH Be a well read historian and follow through with the research; I am also a Nigerian historian particularly focusing on Yoruba history (I am also Yoruba myself) your last paragraph is entirely false.

[@mch7933]

@@FromNothing interesting. I have been to the website and have the 1974 edition myself and there was no entry for such category nor a mention of the Benin wall at the time. However it must have been updated since I last checked. But still interesting is how the earthworks of "Benin and Ishan (Esan)" are grouped together by the entry in the Guinness world records as I have now seen. Like I said earthworks from other different territories are often grouped with that of Benin to make up for the initial measurement.

[@FromNothing]

@@mch7933 In the case of your last paragraph, it may have come down to the wording. "Guinness World Records" and "Guinness Book of World Records." Maybe it's recorded in the former but not the latter. Also maybe perhaps Ishan and Benin were connected at some point in history? I don't know for certain in that respect. Just speculation.

[@mch7933]

@@FromNothing Both wordings refer to the same thing, there was a name change in 1999. Although i found the origin of the mixup So on their FAQ page It is stated that not all records appear in their books or on the website, reason they update regularly. Explains why it wasn't on the website when i last checked. Then i went digging since the editions i have don't mention benin earthworks, then i found that the first edition to mention it was 1975 not 1974 as is popularly said. I found this on archive org The entry was also absent in print for much of the 90s and 2000s. So yeah thanks for calling that out because i wouldn't have had to check the website again, forcing me to also look for editions that mentioned it.

[@k.j.freeman5452]

Why call out Australia like that? Lol

[@FromNothing]

Lol it felt mean but I knew that I'd have a million people correcting me if I didn't make that disclaimer.

[@angelamonk716]

Starts at 5:12 mark

[@TheAshHeritor]

Awesome information. Very good inspiration for the fantasy setting I'm building (since I'm now fleshing out the "africa-esque" continent).

[@Brokenfootkid]

Beautiful video

[@M.M.83-U]

Very interesting.

[@КристоферДосс]

Isn't the Dingo Wall actually longer? Though it's not going to win any awards for impressiveness.

[@FromNothing]

It's not.

[@atwilliux456]

I’m in High school and my global class is trash in general, because they don’t go into depth about anything, but they do talk about everything equal between Europe Asia South America and Latin America they don’t talk about the us though because its a globale class not us history, they talk about Africa a lot but only North Africa they pretend anything below the Sahara doesn’t exist the only time they did talk about anything below the Sahara was about the Bantu migrations but that is such a small part of the history of Africa and it really sucks

[@GlareBoxTV]

Next time tell your class about Great Zimbabwe, Lalibela church, Bamileke architecture, the Benin Bronzes and Ife statues. Those are all interesting topics

[@atwilliux456]

@@GlareBoxTV everyone is so dumb In that class it’s hard to talk to them

[@silver_tongue9644]

Wooo tell me all

[@MarcusMoore777]

I hate the idea of black history month it’s embarrassing tbh 🤷🏿‍♂️

[@cavaugnsharkey2699]

How?

[@drstevej2527]

So he is a conspiracy nut. Imagine my surprise.

[@willfakaroni5808]

Who?

[@tm1464]

🖤❤💚

[@elshebactm6769]

🤠👍🏿

[@safuwanfauzi5014]

Can Sub-Sahara ancient, classical and medieval built like Angkor Wat, Prambanan, Borobudur AND grand sophisticated architecture moment? why? can we be honest that sub-Sahara African do not reach civilisation like Roman, Greece, India, China, Khmer, Malay, Arab, Persia, Maya and Inca. which monument and wonder equal to Europe, Asia and Mesoamerica, what name off sub-Sahara Africa scientists, mathematician, engineer, professor, doctor, philosopher, Roman, European, Arab, India, China, Japan and Persia have all these none in sub-Sahara. not a city like Rome, Beijing, Angkor, Baghdad, London, Paris, Isfahan and Cordoba similar advance in sub-Sahara do video if sub-Sahara before 1850AD that great like Rome, Angkor and Beijing.

[@DirtyEdon]

more pyramids in Sudan than in Egypt. the great walls of Zimbabwe.

[@safuwanfauzi5014]

@@DirtyEdon but smaller, most Pyramid in Egypt was gone because later ruler Roman, Byzantine and Arab even local population take stone from Pyramid to built palaces, Fort, city wall, castle, houses and other, so smaller pyramid are gone, Egypt have mote Pyramid and more temple, and bigger, unlike in copycat Sudan.

[@safuwanfauzi5014]

​@@DirtyEdon Pyramid temple of Aztec, Maya, Inca in Americas, Indonesian with "candi sukuh, candi cetho, candi kethek, Situs Lebak Cibedug, Pugung Raharjo and Borobodur, Cambodia with "Koh Ker", Baksei Chamkrong Temple, Pre Rup, Bakong Temples, Phimeanakas temple and Baphuon Temple, Micronesia with Nan Madol, and Polynesia like Tahiti, Tonga, Samoa, Hawaii with "Marae Polynesia", or "Heiau" in Hawaii. Candi Batu Pahat Kedah in Malaysia very similar to "Marae" step Pyramid. they are thousands of step Pyramid in Indonesia we called "punden berundak" long before Hinduism and Islam" the step Pyramid are place of Austronesian worship Indonesia, Malaysia, Micronesia and Polynesia are cousin "Austronesian people" that why their similar, even roof house and palaces look pyramidal shape like "Tajug roof", and "joglo Jawa" also built mosque "masjid Agung banten", traditional Malaysia and Indonesian mosque are pyramidal roof, unlike Middle-Eastern Arab-Persian dome mosque are built in 1960s mostly. Masjid Tengkera, Madjid Kg. Hulu Melaka in Malaysia and Masjid Agung Demak, from temple, mosque all Pyramid shape or mountainous shape, because of heritage of worship mountain and pyramidal(punden berundak). Sudanese copy Egyptian, same Korean copy China directly. not local genius, look at South Sudan, Kenya, Central Africa Republic, Congo down Sudan, no structure similar or equal to Egypt ,

[@DirtyEdon]

@@safuwanfauzi5014 apart from Greek and Rome where else was European building structure?? Can you name me ancient northern European structures or eastern European structures? You literally only have two countries in the entire ancient European countries and Rome copied Greece.

[@DirtyEdon]

@@safuwanfauzi5014 bro ancient Rome is literally a copy cat of Greece lmfao what's your point? Ancient Japan, Korea is a copy cat of ancient China. Congrats you've just realised other nations copy each other, why try to demonise Africa ONLY when that's not unique to Africa? It's as if you have same racial biases towards Africans.....

[@s6748-z5j]

AYO WHATUP WHATUP WHATUP, WE WUZ ENGINEERS TOO DEN? DAYUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM AIGHTTTT DAS TIGHT AIGHT. YOU FEEL ME?

[@juord]

Jesus, go outside.

[@s6748-z5j]

@@juord AYO WHATUPWHATUP WHAT IT DO HOMIE? U TRYIN TO CATCH SOM HANDS DEN MY BOY? AIGHT DEN

[@juord]

@@s6748-z5j def gotta be a virgin

[@tompossessed1729]

@@s6748-z5j Shut up

[@willfakaroni5808]

Did you watch the video