Nan Madol Lodged between truth and myth

On the island of Pohnpei in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, between the equator and the eleventh parallel, lies the city of Nan Madol. An engineering marvel it is the only ancient city ever built atop a coral reef and is considered to be one of the greatest archaeological wonders of the world.

Part of the Federated States of Micronesia, Nan Madol is comprised of a vast tapestry of 92 artificial islets all interconnected by canals. The megalithic structures were constructed primarily with basalt logs, a volcanic rock that breaks naturally to form long blocks, then stacked horizontally, log cabin style to form walls as high as 50 feet and up to 17 feet thick. The average weight of each stone is 5 tons, with some weighing as much as 25 tons each! The stones and columns are so heavy that conventional and mainstream scholars have yet to determine how it was built, who built them, and exactly where the building materials came from.

Radio carbon dating and archaeological excavations have been carried out and these estimate Nan Madol to be as old as 200 B.C. However, there is no logical explanation as to the origin of the massive hexagonal shaped stones. It has been determined that the stones are not natural but instead, man-made and certainly did not come from the immediate area.

The meaning of Nan Madol is “between spaces,” and it certainly lives up to its nickname, as it seems to be lodged in between truth and myth. What mainstream scholars cannot explain, local myths can.

Legends claim that the ruins of this ancient city are under a spell and that they were once home to a mysterious civilization. The island has many uncharted corridors that connect the man made islets, tombs carrying the remains of giants and spirits of dead kings. The locals believe that the builders used magic to transport the stones to the island.

Scientific theory suggests the stones were brought from the mainland using bamboo rafts to float them across the water. However, in 1995 while making a documentary movie for the Discovery Channel, all attempts to transport stones weighing more than a ton in this fashion failed.

There are no written records on the island’s history in existence. Its’ history has been kept alive by word of mouth only. The local practice of keeping secrets is a sacred and is one of the obstacles to learning more about their history. The local king Nahmwarki made a proclamation saying to all, “to disrupt the holy ground that once belonged to past rulers with supernatural powers would be breaking the law. “In fact, he threatened the English archaeologist, F.W. Christian with capital punishment should he break the law and dig.

Archaeologists digging on Nan Madol are met with slim pickings of artefacts to study, and even then, face the possibility of a curse said to be cast upon those who violate the lands. In 1874, a shipwreck near the Marshall Islands took hundreds of crates belonging to polish anthropologist Jan Kubary, to the bottom of the ocean, and with it went much of Nan Madol history.

Early on in the twentieth century the island was under German rule. The Governor at the time, Victor Berg, disregarded the royal ban and entered the sealed tomb of Nan Madol and opened the coffin of the ancient island rulers. In it he found the skeletal remains of giants measuring two to three metres tall.

During that night Nan Madol was alive with spiritual activity. There was a wild storm with lightning flashes in the sky and torrential rains pounding down on the island. Governor Victor Berg lay in delirium, hearing the sounds of a conch shell blowing. The next morning, on 30 April 1907, Governor Berg died. The German physician could not determine the cause of death, but the natives were certain that his death was a curse from the Gods for his blatant disrespect. However, today’s rationale says he died as a result of sunstroke and heat exhaustion contracted while surveying the ruins.

This question has puzzled scientists for centuries. Why would someone build a city on coral reefs that rises only five feet above water? Nan Madol had no food or water available on the island and the rulers depended on the “commoners” to bring them whatever they needed. What was the purpose of Nan Madol?

Research still continues at Nan Madol and the tapestry of man made islets in Micronesia, and no doubt we will learn more about this strange place in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in the years to come