Reconstructing the Old Palace Landscape of Benin City, Nigeria
Utilizing A. J. H. Goodwin’s Archive at the University of Cape Town as a Resource on Edo History and Archaeology
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12002736 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tomos Llywelyn Evans (0009-0007-4623-0097, Washington University in St. Louis, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-28 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-30 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | History in Africa (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0361-5413 • E-ISSN: 1558-2744 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/hia.2025.10014 |
| OpenAlex | W7143503520 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 8 |
Unbeknownst to many in the fields of African history and archaeology, the South African archaeologist A. J. H. Goodwin conducted important research in Nigeria during the last decade of his life, from 1953 to 1957. Following work at the Yoruba town of Ile-Ife, Goodwin led the first systematic excavations in Benin City in 1954–55 and 1956–57. With little of this material ever published, this article outlines, analyzes, and discusses Goodwin’s archives at the University of Cape Town that pertain to his research at Benin City, which contain important unpublished information in reports, sketch maps, photographs, and correspondence. Using this material, the article reconstructs important dimensions of the town’s old palace landscape – including the locations and organization of compounds and shrines associated with past kings – and Goodwin and others’ excavations within it, situating this novel spatial and archaeological information within the larger landscape of the city
Cape · Excavation · Resource (disambiguation · Sketch · Work (physics · Yoruba · African history and culture studies · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories
| Highly cited | No |
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