Nan Madol Ancient City is one of the extraordinary cities in the world whose mystery cannot be solved. The construction of the ancient city, located on the Micronesia Island in the Pacific Ocean, took about 900 years. Located on the coast of Pohnpei Island, the city is one of the oldest structures found in the Pacific Ocean. The city, which was built using 250 million tons of basalt blocks, connects 100 artificial islands with canals. How these gigantic basalt rocks were brought to the region is among the unsolved issues.
Micronesia is a country located in the Western Pacific Ocean and consists of a total of 607 islands. Nan Madol Ancient City served as the capital of the Saudeleur Dynasty until 1628. Today, it is part of the Federated States of Micronesia. The name Nan Madol means “the space between” and the city is known as the Venice of the Pacific Ocean. The extraordinary ancient city in the ocean is at risk of being submerged due to global warming. Nan Madol, which is considered to be very important for researchers and historians, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2016.
Interesting Aspects of the Ancient City of Nan Madol
The completion of the ancient city, the construction of which began in the 1st century AD, was only possible in the 9th century. In the construction of the ancient city; Natural hexagonal basalt columns with a height of 4.5 meters and longer and a weight of 5 tons and more were used. Basalt Rocks are types of volcanic rocks formed as a result of the cooling and solidification of molten lava. The total weight of the basalt columns used in the construction of the city is thought to be approximately 250 million tons.
There are no metal resources in the region where the ancient city was founded. For this reason, it is thought that the huge basalt columns were shaped using stone axes. However, it has not been understood how such huge columns were shaped in stone axes, where and how they were brought. Researchers are trying to make scientific and logical explanations on this subject. It is thought that the basalt blocks, whose origin cannot be found, were carried on rafts and put in their places thanks to ropes and inclined ramps. However, it is not known how wooden rafts and primitive ropes carried these pillars weighing tons. There has to be another method that can withstand that much weight.
One of the other unresolved issues about the Ancient City is; It is exactly who is the civilization that continued the construction of the city for 900 years. Many civilizations in history have survived between 300 and 900 years. Archaeologists say that the ancient city belonged to the Saudeleur Dynasty. However, other structures and cultural heritages built by this dynasty, which existed for many years, could not be reached. It is said that the tombs of the rulers of the city, which is thought to be the first structure in the history of the Pacific Islands, are much older than the important monuments on other islands.
