There is little evidence of the origin of the megalithic complex. The old story on Pohnpei is that the builders of the Lelu complex in Kosrae (which, like the Nan Madol complex, is made of megaliths) moved to Pohnpei and used their skills and experience to build the more famous Nan Madol complex. However, according to carbon-14 tests, the Nan Madol was built earlier than Lelu, thus proving this claim to be false.
Like the Lelu complex, the city was virtually isolated from the rest of the world, and one of the purposes of its construction was to separate the nobility from the commoners.
Nan Madol’s basalt and coral rock structures were built from the 13th to the 17th century by a population of less than 30,000 people and their total weight is estimated at 750,000 metric tons. Archaeologist Rufino Mauricio pulls these vast quantities into focus for us by explaining that the people of Pohnpei moved an average of 1,850 tons of basalt per year over four centuries—and no one knows quite how they did it.
There are many City Ceremonial and Burial Sites, such as the Nandauwas and Idehd. Nan Madol has numerous ceremonial and burial sites, highlighting the city’s religious significance.
The Nandauwas, a central ceremonial site, features a large stone platform and walls built from basalt columns. This structure was likely used for religious ceremonies and rituals and for hosting important visitors. The Idehd is another notable site, believed to have been used for mortuary rituals and ancestor worship.
The presence of these ceremonial and burial sites indicates the importance of religious practices in the daily life of the Saudeleur Dynasty and the people of Pohnpei.
Nan Madol has been the subject of numerous theories and speculations, one of which is its potential connect-ion to the legendary lost city of Atlantis. While there is no concrete evidence to support this claim, some similarities between the descriptions of Atlantis and the architecture of Nan Madol have fueled speculation.
Both cities are said to have been built on a series of interconnected islands and featured advanced engineering techniques. However, the geographical location of Nan Madol and the lack of corroborating histori-cal records make this connection tenuous at best.
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Nan Madol is one of the most significant sites not yet on the World Heritage List.
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— Richard Engelhart, Former Unesco adviser for Asia and the Pacific
Gallery
Although tourism in Nan Madol is not well established, many archaeologists and history tourists still come here, leaving behind many photographs of the ruins of this crumbling and mysterious civilisation.
