Nigeria downplays Queen of Sheba link in wall find
02:48 p.m May 30, 1999 Eastern
By Dulue Mbachu

LAGOS, May 30 (Reuters) - A team of British and Nigerian archaeologists made
a major discovery by finding a 1,000 year old wall, Nigerian officials said
on Sunday, but they played down suggestions it was linked to the legendary
Queen of Sheba.

British and Nigerian newspapers had said the Eredo earthworks, found by the
team in the southwestern rainforests, were thought to be the lost kingdom of
the fabled queen.

``All we know is that it was a city wall, evidence of a great and ancient
city. But not very much is known right now,'' Levi Izuakor, director of
research at Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM)
told Reuters.

The team concluded preliminary studies of the earthworks, made of a wall and
ditch 14 metres (45 ft) high in places and 160 kilometres (99.42 miles) long.

Local myths refer to the ancient site, located 200 kilometres north of Lagos,
as enclosing the possible burial place of an ancient queen, sometimes thought
to be the Queen of Sheba. But Izuakor said nothing has so far indicated this.

``There's no evidence to make a linkage between the place and the Queen of
Sheba,'' he said. But he said it remained an important discovery all the
same.

``We are considering approaching UNESCO (United Nations Educational
Scientific and Cultural Organisation) to declare it a world heritage site,''
he said.

According to the Biblical story, the Queen of Sheba, who came from Africa,
had a love affair with King Solomon. Their son began a dynasty of rulers in
Ethiopia and thus originated the black Jews.

Until now most historians thought that her kingdom was in Yemen, Arabia or in
Ethopia.

Some Nigerian archaeologists think the ruins were more likely to have to do
with the old Ijebu Kingdom under the Awujale, which occupies the area today,
or neighbouring ancient Benin whose influence at a point stretched from the
interior to coastal Lagos.

``Perhaps the city was built by an entirely different, older kingdom,'' said
archaeologist Okwuchukwu Achor.

Nigeria has proved a fertile region for significant archaeological
discoveries, including the 2,000 year old Nok terracotta and the eight
century Igbo-Ikwu bronzes.

A 26 feet (8 metres) 8,500 year old canoe was discovered in 1993 in the
northeast Yobe State, seen by experts as an indication that Lake Chad once
extended far beyond present boundaries.


Copyright 1999 Reuters