Archaeologists in Benin City have uncovered long-lost traces of royal architecture, artistry, and metalworking — offering the clearest archaeological insight yet into how the legendary Benin Bronzes were born.
The Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) Archaeology Project, carried out between 2022 and 2024, represents the largest excavation in Benin City in half a century and one of the most ambitious pre-construction archaeological programs ever undertaken in West Africa.

Rediscovering the heart of the ancient Kingdom of Benin

Once the capital of a powerful kingdom that flourished between the 13th and 19th centuries CE, Benin City was a center of refined urban planning and artistic genius. Its famous bronze and brass masterpieces once adorned the royal palace, telling stories of ceremony, warfare, and divine kingship.
That cultural brilliance was nearly erased in 1897, when British forces looted and destroyed much of the royal complex. For decades, the archaeology of Benin lay dormant — until MOWAA’s recent investigations reopened the ground where its greatness began.

A collaboration blending local knowledge and global science

The project unites MOWAA with the British Museum, the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), the University of Cambridge, and Wessex Archaeology. More than 60 Nigerian archaeologists and technicians took part, gaining advanced training in field and analytical methods in Cambridge, London, and Cyprus — a capacity-building milestone for West African heritage science.

Excavations across the MOWAA Institute and Rainforest Gallery sites revealed deep cultural layers, some reaching three meters below the surface. Radiocarbon dates show that settlement began over a millennium ago — long before the rise of the Benin Kingdom — suggesting the city’s sacred and political roots extend far deeper than once believed.

Unearthing the foundations of the Benin Bronzes

Archaeologists uncovered palatial foundations, ritual shrines, and metalworking areas that illuminate Benin’s creative and spiritual life.
Clusters of upturned pots, cowrie shells, and molded chalk (nzu) marked sacred spaces used for purification and royal ceremonies. Nearby, furnaces, crucibles, and copper-alloy residues provided physical evidence of the workshops where the Benin Bronzes were forged.

The finds confirm that Benin City was not only a royal capital but also a metallurgical powerhouse, where generations of artisans mastered lost-wax casting to produce the sculptures that would later captivate the world’s museums. Imported gin bottles and ceramics from the 19th century reflect Benin’s role as a cosmopolitan hub in global trade networks — until the devastating British invasion reshaped its destiny.

From ruin to renewal

Excavations also documented layers of destruction and colonial intrusion: burnt debris from the 1897 assault, a European cemetery, and administrative remains from the early colonial period. Later levels, including materials from the colonial police headquarters and a post-independence hospital, trace the transformation of the same ground across centuries of upheaval and adaptation.

A new chapter for African heritage

For Dr. Sam Nixon of the British Museum, co-director of the excavation, these results “redefine our understanding of Benin’s urban history and show that archaeology can coexist with development.”
The MOWAA Institute, rising above these rediscovered foundations, will serve as a world-class center for conservation, analysis, and storage of artifacts from across West Africa — a living bridge between past and future.

The rediscovery of Benin City’s buried heart strengthens Nigeria’s cultural sovereignty and supports the ongoing repatriation of the Benin Bronzes, reconnecting them to their original landscape. As MOWAA takes shape above these ancient layers, the site becomes both a repository of memory and a symbol of renewal, reminding the world that the story of Benin — and Africa’s artistic genius — is still being written.

Cover Image: Aerial view of the MOWAA Archaeology Project excavation sites in Benin City, Nigeria — revealing the buried layers of the royal capital. Credit: Folorunso et al., 2025, MOWAA Archaeology Project, Antiquity.

Folorunso, C., Nixon, S., Opadeji, S., Babalola, A., Le Quesne, C., Adamu, A., … Breeden, C. (2025). MOWAA Archaeology Project: enhancing understanding of Benin City’s historic urban development and heritage through pre-construction archaeology. Antiquity, 1–10. doi:10.15184/aqy.2025.10189