Nan Madol
The Inspiration Behind the Ancient Weather Station
On the other side of the world, in the humid Federated States of Micronesia in the western Pacific Ocean, lies the ruins of an ancient city. No one knows how it was built or why it was abandoned. Locals are afraid of it, a sacred place where spirits rule the night. To disturb the ruins is believed to be bad luck upon those who do, and possibly the entire society.
Nan Madol was constructed between the main island of Pohnpei and Temwen Island in a lagoon, but it wasn’t built on land. Instead, 92 different artificial islets were created on a coral reef flat in shallow water by filling them with stone, coral fill and basalt crystal boulders. Narrow, overgrown channels separate each man-made island. The platforms, spread over 200 acres, are surrounded by an outer seawall built with enormous crystal logs.
“It is the only ancient city ever built atop of a coral reef.” -The Smithsonian Institute
Each islet contains varying structures, some immense and some destroyed by the passing of time. Each was formed by columnar basalt, a hexagonal or occasionally octagonal rock created from basalt crystal through the cooling of a thick lava flow. According to Ancient Origins, the average weight of each stone is 5 tons, but some weigh as much as 50 tons. It’s been estimated that it took up to 750,000 metric tons of basalt to construct Nan Madol. Biblioteca Pleyades estimates that walls were piled up to 80 feet in some places and whole columns reach up to 16 feet long. Other sources say they could be as long as 20 feet! Without the help of machinery, how did the ancient residents create this archaeological complexity?
“It’s imposing yet graceful ruins are made of stones and columns so heavy that no one has figured out how it was built.” -The Smithsonian Institute
To further confuse historians and archaeologists alike, there is no quarry site for basalt in Madolenihmw. Probable quarry sites on the island of Pohnpei have been located, and underwater, a trail of drop stones can be found, but how did an ancient civilization transport rocks of so many tons for such a great distance?
It was proposed that the logs were floated on bamboo rafts from the quarry, but no one has yet been able to prove that this was possible. Rufino Mauricio, Pohnpei’s only archaeologist, even attempted the feat once. When the basalt was placed on the bamboo raft, it sank straight to the bottom. Some modern Pohnpeians still believe they were flown to Nan Madol with black magic.
The ancient community was not an urban city at all, but a sacred and special home to those of high birth and religious leaders. Nan Madol means “spaces between,” most likely after the many canals that separated each islet. It is only fitting that many today call it the “Venice of the Pacific,” but Nan Madol was not its original name. Some believe it’s name to be Soun Nan-leng, or “Reed of Heaven,” a fitting place for sacred religious rites and burials.
But for a sacred city, aside from its megalithic architecture, it lies relatively unadorned. The walls of basalt are not carved. There is no art. No traces of writing or inscription have been found. There are no sources of fresh water here, or food other than sealife. So what was Nan Madol used for and how were the people that lived there sustained?
One theory is that the quasi-rectangular islets were part of the lost continent of Mu, or Lemuria as James Churchward and David Hatcher Childress have suggested in their books. Bill S. Ballinger, in his book Lost City of Stones, suggests that it was built by Greek sailors in 300 BC.
What we do know through excavations is that Nan Madol was a scene of human activity, and could have even been occupied, as early as 200 BC. Rufino Mauricio reports that “the islands closer to the mainland are older that those on the outskirts of the site, facing the sea, which is where the most elaborate structures are.”
“The early inhabitants made and used earthenware pottery, though it ceased to be made by AD 1100. Initial construction of the artificial islets began at least by AD 900.” -International Archaeological Research Institute
It is believed that in the 8th or 9th century, basic islet construction had started but it wasn’t until the 12th or 13th centuries that the distinctive megalithic structures we see today were begun. Carbon dating suggests that construction did not really get going until 1200 AD. So how did this ancient society, over 800 years old, construct such a masterpiece?
One theory that Pohnpeian tradition claims is that builders of Lelu, another great complex of stone, migrated to Pohnpei and used their experience to construct the even larger Nan Madol. Radiocarbon dating says this theory is unlikely, as Nan Madol seems to predate Lelu.
Another legend says it was built by two twins who were said to be much taller than native Pohnpeians.
“According to Pohnpeian legend, Nan Madol was constructed by twin sorcerers Olisihpa and Olosohpa from the mythical Western Katau, or Kanamwayso. The brothers arrived in a large canoe seeking a place to build an altar so that they could worship Nahnisohn Sahpw, the god of agriculture. After several false starts, the two brothers successfully built an altar off Temwen Island, where they performed their rituals. In legend, these brothers levitated the huge stones with the aid of a flying dragon. When Olisihpa died of old age, Olosopha became the first Saudeleur. Olosohpa married a local woman and sired twelve generations, producing sixteen other Saudeleur rulers of the Dipwilap (“Great”) clan. The founders of the dynasty ruled kindly, though their successors placed ever increasing demands on their subjects.” -Wikipedia
Many other legends surround the mysterious city of Nan Madol. A folktale tells of a city built by giants, strong enough to move the rocks. Another local story holds that a powerful magician came from the northwest and flew the stones to Nan Madol.
But whatever the origin of the ancient city, it’s construction is impressive. As Rufino Mauricio said, “not bad for people who had no pulleys, no levers and no metal.”
“Given Pohnpei’s population at the time was less than 30,000, the building of Nan Madol represented a much larger effort than the pyramids were for the Egyptians. The total weight of the black rocks moved is estimated at 750,000 metric tons, an average of 1,850 tons a year over four centuries.” -The Smithsonian Institute
But who were the residents of Nan Madol? Pohnpeians and historians alike suggest that a people known as the Saudeleurs, who united all of Pohnpei’s estimated 25,000 people, were the ones to construct Nan Madol. It was believed to be the ceremonial and political seat of the Saudeleur Dynasty, which lasted around 500 years. The Saudeleurs were thought to be the descendants of two brothers in the 6th century, who founded a religious community focused on the adoration of the sea. The rulers of the Saudeleurs were known to be deeply religious, some good, others tyrants.
It is thought that Nan Madol was built to insulate the nobility of the Saudeleurs from the commoners. Nobility lived in the elite centre. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the city was created to organize and control chiefs and potential rivals by requiring them to live there instead of their home districts, where their activities were difficult to monitor.
“Excavations of these elite residences have revealed the presence of beads and other ornaments, which may have marked their owner’s social status.” -The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The population of the city was never more than 1,000 at its height, but may have been far less. Most likely, the inhabitants were largely commoners, servants to the chiefs and rulers. They lived in traditional thatch huts built on the basalt platforms. Plebeians from all of Pohnpei were required to bring frequent tributes of food to Nan Madol, sustaining their rulers.
“The highly stratified social system at Nan Madol is the earliest known example of such centralized political power in the western Pacific.” -The Metropolitan Museum of Art
But what was the point of all of these individual, man-made islands that took many years and great labor to construct? It was believed that most were residential, but some served special purposes. Peiniot and Usennamw were used for the commoners to bring food and water by boat to supply the other islands. Peinering was used for coconut oil preparation.
“Portable artifacts recovered at Nan Madol number several thousand and include shell tools and ornaments, pottery, and stone tools. Food remains that provide a basis for dietary and activity pattern reconstructions have been collected from a variety of contexts. Nan Madol ceramic collections show considerable variability suggestive of major stylistic changes and non-local production sources typical of chiefly exchange.” -University of Oregon
The mortuary sector in the northeastern part of Nan Madol contained 58 islets and was known as Madol Powe. Most were homes to priests. The islands of Peinkitel, Karian, Pahnwi and Lemenkou are surrounded by high walls up to 60 feet high, protecting tombs. This sections contains the largest of the islands, Nan Dauwas (aka Dauas, Dowas, Douwas).
Nan Dauwas, the royal mortuary with gracefully upswept corners, was reserved solely for chiefly burials. Walls of 18 to 25 feet surround a main courtyard and central tomb. Larger than a football field, it’s estimated to contain 150,000 cubic feet of basalt and 475,000 cubic feet of coral fill, weighing 45,000 metric tons, according to UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization).
“One cornerstone is estimated to weigh 50 tons... Eight columns form the basis of a roof that lets in shards of sunlight… The bodies of kings were placed here and later buried elsewhere.” -The Smithsonian Institute
The islet of Dapahu was used to construct canoes, essential to get from island to island. Legend says that there was an escape tunnel through the reef at the center of Nan Madol and into the ocean. Dapahu may have been the geographical center, but it was unlikely it was the center of activity on the islands.
The small island of Idehd was used for a sacred ritual. The oral history Pohnpeians have passed on says that priests sacrificed sea turtles there. They would then feed the innards of the turtle to a sacred eel kept in a well and allowed to enter from the sea through small canals cut into the islets. As a sacrament, the participants would share the rest of the turtle. The canals and remains of the sacrificial turtles have been unearthed during archaeological excavations, possibly confirming the oral stories.
The islet of Peikapw was where the rule of the Saudeleurs ended between 1625 and 1628. Isohkelekel, an outsider from the island of Kosrae to the east and a semi-mythical warrior, overthrew the last Saudeleur ruler and made this island his residence.
There are many differing accounts of the invasion by Isokelekel, at least 13 that have been published, and many more oral legends. One of the more popular legends tells the story of the last Saudeleur leader and his tyrannical rule, so oppressive that he offended the Thunder God. So the Thunder God left Pohnpei for Kosrae, where he fed a lime to a human and thereby impregnated her, producing the demi-god Isokelekel. He grew up to achieve his destiny of vengeance
In another legend about the actual battle, Isokeleke’s warriors are helped to reverse the tide of war by the sudden appearance of weapons, as if sent from above. After much battling back and forth, the Saudeleur retreated to Pohnpei. The Saudeleur ruler retreated uphill to a stream, where he transformed into a fish and dove in. The legend says that he remains there to this day.
Oral history also tells the story of Isokeleke’s death on the island of Peikapw where he saw his reflection in a pool. Shocked by how old he looked, he is said to have committed suicide there.
But the rule of Isokeleke did not truly end with his death, as it began the Nahnmwarki Era, a system of multiple tribal chiefs that remains today. Each of the island of Pohnpei’s five municipalities are run by a modern Nahnmwarki. The Nahnmwarki of Madolenihmw, the municipality containing Nan Madol, is said to be directly descended from Isokeleke and therefore believed to be the legitimate supervisor of the ruins by the people of Pohnpei.
Living at Nan Madol proved difficult for the Nahnmwarkis, as they had to gather their own food and fresh water. This trouble combined with a sharp population decline sometime after 1500 AD, was thought to be the reason Nan Madol was largely abandoned. It was occasionally used for religious ceremonies until the late 19th century, but no longer was it a bustling city. It’s demise correlates with the development of a similar site on the island of Kosrae, suggesting the Nahnmwarki brought his people back home. All that is certain is that by the time Europeans arrived in 1595 led by Pedro Fernandes de Quiros of Portugal, Nan Madol seemed to be abandoned.
In 1686 the Spanish took over the entire archipelago of Ponape and deemed the islands the Carolinas after King Charles II. In 1889 Spain sold it to Germany and in 1919 the Caroline Islands became Japanese mandated territory. In 1926, Nan Madol inspired H.P. Lovecraft’s nightmare city of R’lyeh, home of monsters, in his short story, Call of Cthulhu. During the war in the Pacific in 1944, Americans occupied the islands and deemed them an American Trust Territory in 1947. In 1985, the U.S. declared Nan Madol a National Historical Landmark and in 2002 it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places (#19741219 74002226).
Now Nan Madol is part of the Federated States of Micronesia and on the Pohnpei State Register of Historic Properties. In 2002, it became protected under the Pohnpei Historic and Cultural Preservation Act and a greater effort is being made to preserve the ruins. They are mostly covered with impenetrable jungle and brush needs to be cleared to make the buildings accessible. The main channels need to be dredged to provide a route in by boat for tourists and rehabilitators.
Rufino Mauricio has dedicated his life to the study and preservation of Nan Madol. For many years, ownership disputes between the state government and the Nahnmwari blocked rehabilitation efforts and Nan Madol becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With this designation, the flow of grants and visitors would increase, and the number of visitors could rise above the fewer than 1,000 it saw yearly.
On July 16th, 2016, largely thanks to the patience and perseverance of Rufino Mauricio, UNESCO declared Nan Madol a World Heritage Site and added it to the List of World Heritage in Danger.
“Nan Madol is one of the most significant sites not yet on the World Heritage List,” says Richard Engelhart, an archaeologist and former Unesco adviser for Asia and the Pacific.” -The Smithsonian Institute
“The easiest way to see Nan Madol is to take a cab from Kolonia, the little capital of Pohnpei, park on an unmarked spot and walk for nearly a mile through a primitive jungle path. When you arrive, only a channel separates you from the main building, the Nandawas. Representatives of the Nahnmwarki with a boat are on hand to collect $3 and take you across. The odds are good that you will have the place to yourself. Having your own boat at high tide allows you to go much farther.” -The Smithsonian Institute
