The historical setting
Nan Madol is an archaeological site adjacent to the eastern shore of the island of Pohnpei, now part of the Madolenihmw district of Pohnpei state in the Federated States of Micronesia in the western Pacific Ocean. Nan Madol was the capital of the Saudeleur dynasty until about 1628. The city, constructed in a lagoon, consists of a series of small artificial islands linked by a network of canals. The site core with its stone walls encloses an area approximately 1.5 by 0.5 kilometres (0.93 mi × 0.31 mi) and it contains 92 artificial islets—stone and coral fill platforms—bordered by tidal canals. The name Nan Madol means "within the intervals" and is a reference to the canals that crisscross the ruins. The original name was Soun Nan-leng, "Reef of Heaven", according to Gene Ashby in his book Pohnpei, An Island Argosy.
History
Nan Madol was the ceremonial and political seat of the Saudeleur dynasty, which united Pohnpei's estimated population of 25,000 people until about 1628. Set apart between the main island of Pohnpei and Temwen Island, it was a scene of human activity as early as the first or second century AD. By the 8th or 9th century, islet construction had started, with construction of the distinctive megalithic architecture beginning 1180–1200 AD. Polish ethnographer and oceanographer John Stanislaw Kubary made the first detailed description of Nan Madol in 1874. Little can be verified about the megalithic construction.
Pohnpeian tradition claims that the builders of the Leluh archaeological site on Kosrae (likewise composed of huge stone buildings) migrated to Pohnpei, where they used their skills and experience to build the even more impressive Nan Madol complex. Radiocarbon dating indicates that Nan Madol predates Leluh; thus, it is more likely that Nan Madol influenced Leluh. 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.
Purpose and features
The elite centre was a special place of residence for the nobility and of mortuary activities presided over by priests. Its population almost certainly did not exceed 1,000, and may have been less than half that. Although a number of the residents were chiefs, the majority were commoners. Nan Madol served, in part, as a way for the ruling Saudeleur chiefs to organize and control potential rivals by requiring them to live in the city rather than in their home districts, where their activities were difficult to monitor. Madol Powe, the mortuary sector, contains 58 islets in the northeastern area of Nan Madol. Most islets were once occupied by the dwellings of priests.
Some islets served a special purpose: food preparation, canoe construction on Dapahu, and coconut oil preparation on Peinering. High walls surrounding tombs are located on Peinkitel, Karian, and Lemenkou, but the most prominent is the royal mortuary islet of Nandauwas, where walls 5.5–7.5 metres (18–25 ft) high surround a central tomb enclosure within the main courtyard. This was built for the first Saudeleur. On Nan Madol, there is no fresh water or food; water must be collected and food grown inland.
Archaeology
Carbon dating indicates that megalithic construction at Nan Madol began around AD 1180 when large basalt stones were taken from a volcanic plug on the opposite side of Pohnpei. The earliest settlement on Pohnpei was probably around AD 1 although radiocarbon dating shows human activity starting around AD 80–200. In 1978 and 1979, Arthur Saxe conducted underwater archaeological surveys to investigate reports of submerged basalt columns just offshore of Nan Madol and to search for two legendary submerged prehistoric cities known as Kahnihmw Namkhet and Kahnihmweiso. These surveys reported finding several tall stone pillars covered in coral growth and as tall as 6 metres (20 ft) tall, 0.9–1.2 metres (3.0–3.9 ft) wide, at depths of over 25 metres (82 ft).
Neither Kahnihmw Namkhet nor Kahnihmweiso was found. However, it was hypothesized that the city of Kahnihmweiso might have been built over a cavern, which collapsed and formed a blue hole that swallowed the city. In 1988 and 1989, a team of archaeologists from the University of Oregon conducted underwater archaeological surveys around Nan Madol. They found a number of prone basalt columns on the sea floor seaward of Nan Madol.