An Underground Adventure - Abomey and Bohicon (part 1)

An Underground Adventure - Abomey and Bohicon (part 1)

A couple weeks ago we went on a faculty field trip for the weekend! A family at school had hosted some Danish archaeologists who have been coming to Benin for over 15 years to conduct research. We were lucky enough to go to their dig sites in Bohicon as well as visit some palaces of former kings of Dahomey in Abomey. Benin was formerly known as the Kingdom of Dahomey and then the Republic of Dahomey until 1975.

Our day did not get off to a good start. Our rental car (actually the 2nd rental car of the day, the first one wouldn't start), broke down about 30 minutes east of Cotonou. We waited on the side of the highway while the mechanics and then the owner came to diagnose and replace a broken fuel pump. We waited for two hours before the car was ready to drive again. Luckily the problem happened close to Cotonou!

Craig and Nicaise, our driver, checking out the engine.

 

We saw some interesting items being transported by the motos while we were waiting. On some roads, there is a separate lane for the motos to drive in.

We drove through Benin's capital city, Porto Novo, where Centre Songhai is (see past blog about that experience). Once we were north of Porto Novo, it was new territory for us. Benin has HILLS! And a very fertile valley, lush and green, perfect for growing many crops, including rice. We have heard it said that this is the most fertile river valley in Africa other than the Nile.

The various shades of green were beautiful to see. Usually what we encounter are various shades of brown/red dust.

After a long ride in a crowded car (Debbie sat in back with the backpacks and such, what a trooper!), we made it to Abomey to meet up with Klavs, one of the main archaeologists. We followed him to Bohicon to the primary dig they were working on. He came to this particular site at the request of a local resident who had been digging behind his house to put in a septic tank. The diggers dug into some very old things, mainly slag from iron smelting, and lots of it. Here's a place to visit about Early Iron Smelting and Slag . We were able to go down into the area where the excavation is taking place, some 10 meters below the surface.

Donn's talking with Klavs, the entrance to the excavation is in the background.

I got to go down into it first!

Inside the "pit". They had just taken down the scaffolding that helped to support the "walls", notice the re-bar in the background. It was hot and humid, and a bit scary with all of that earth/slag that might come crashing down! (CJ)

The slag, and whatever else is in the soil, is loaded into buckets and then carried up to another area.

Heading back up to some fresh hot and humid air.

Bags of slag are weighed, spread out, sorted, and photographed.

Klavs believes the area in which this site is located was a large iron smelting complex, with over 500 smelting furnaces in operation. I think he said the area is estimated to be over 600 hectares (approximately 1500 acres). He dates these activities, using carbon dating among other archaeologic methods, to be around 1000 AD, 600 years before the Kingdoms of Dahomey began in the same general area. These smelting furnaces are 10 meters below the surface! Iron was traded extensively with India, countries in the Mediterranean, and so forth. Klavs predicts that some of the weapons used by the Muslims in the Crusades came from this area.

He took us to a couple other places of interest regarding this area of Bohicon. He has found evidence of other smelters not by digging, but just by observing. In the streets he has seen the bricks from furnace smokestacks.

Hopefully you can make out the round shape of the smokestack. This was in the street right next to a stall for hair extensions!

Other archaeologists in the group were responsible for excavating a grave-site, which they recently found. They think the hole is the entrance to the grave. (CJ)

Our next stop was a site that was also accidentally discovered when the government was preparing to build a road in the area. A bulldozer fell into a big pit and Klavs was called again to see if there was more to it than just a hole in the ground. This site was discovered earlier, in the late 1990s and has since become a museum originally started by Klavs and the Danish government. Parc Archeologique d'Agongointo consists of a series of caves that were used for housing and storage as well as a place to hide during times of slave collecting.
The caves date back to the 17th and 18th centuries.

Teri, Karin, Craig, Debbie, Donn

This is the first cavern that was discovered.

Debbie descends into another cavern with many "rooms". (CJ)

Peekaboo! (CJ)

Donn's in one of the larger rooms. (CJ)

 

The acoustics in these caverns was amazing! (CJ)

Jewelry from the caverns

A remarkably well-preserved clay pot

That was the first day of our trip. Stay tuned for part 2, Abomey.

(Thanks to Craig Johnston for letting me use your excellent photos!)