ith clay walls; for there is not a stone in
the whole country as large as a man's fist."[13] In the same
connection, Legraing, who visited Benin in 1787, also hints at the
reason for the extensive use of clay and wood as the principal
structural materials. Around Benin, according to this observer, "the
vestiges of an old earthen wall are still to be seen; the wall could
hardly have been built of any other material, as we did not see a
single stone in the whole journey up."[14]

The recent reports by Leo Frobenius on his findings further up into
the interior, aside from giving us a picture of present-day conditions
of cities which he believes to date back to pre-classical and
pre-Christian times, also show the absence or scarcity of durable
producing materials. But, most important of all, the report indicates
the grandeur of African cities in ancient times. In discussing the
buildings in the present-day city of Ilife, which he believes was the
capital or center of an ancient African theocracy, he says: "There can
be no doubt that the entire plan and style of architecture gives the
city of Ilife a pleasantly dignified character. If, however, I am to
summarize all the life and activities of this city of palms and
divinities, I cannot, indeed, speak of anything great and sublime,
because that lies buried too deep beneath the soil and debris of
centuries, yet I can say that it has a dreamy respectability."

But speaking specifically upon the building which now serves as the
palace of the great religious headman of Yorubaland, he says: "The
edifice rests upon foundations not of sun dried, but of fine burnt
brick." Taken as a whole, the present-day structure conveys "the
impression of grandeur in decay." "Such," he says, "is a sketch of the
city whose effect is heightened by the noble ruins of the palace of
this Holiness and the consciousness of its traditional past."[15]

We may now turn for a brief consideration of those strange and most
interesting structures of the Sudan, the tombs of their ancient dead.
All through the Sudan, and especially in Nigeria, are to be found
great conical dome-shaped structures of baked clay ranging in size
from sixteen feet in height and sixty-six feet in basal diameter to
seventy feet in height and two hundred and twenty feet in basal
diameter.[15a] These structures were first mentioned by Lieutenant
Louis Desplaynes in his report of _Une Mission archeologique au Sudan
francais_,[16] but th