December 31, 2009 the last day of the year and the last year of the decade in populist cultural view. Anyway, a time of reflection and making of resolutions. While I have never been one dwell on the past, reflecting is a good idea so that you can set a direction for new and better adventures. I always try to make the best day of my life a day in the future. With these thoughts in mind, I got up early went down stairs to collect my car and guide, Lois. She had agreed to give me a tour of the island on her day off. Well, she wasn't in the lobby at the agreed upon time, so I got one of the other women there to take me to her house to see if she was still interested. She was. Her home was rather poor and part of a typical family compound I had seen in the villages that surround Kolonia. We left and headed straight for The Village. I wanted to have breakfast there before we began our day. I saw Dennis and Angie but did not spend much time with them. Lois and I enjoyed our breakfast talking about Pohnpei and her life. I may have mentioned before that she had come from an island southwest of Pohnpei. Two plus days by boat. She moved because she wanted her three kids to have a better education. She was quite homesick though for her extended family.
As we drove through the more rural parts of the island there were fewer and fewer nice homes and more shacks. The median income here is only $2100 and seems to be correlated with how close you live to the capital city. Our first goal was to see Nam Madol, the Venice of the Pacific. The main road around the island is a good, mostly, quality paved road. We turned off on a one lane dirt road by a barely marked sign that indicated some Japanese ruins and Nam Madol. The track continued to narrow until we were in the yard of a family compound. Lois parked the car and we walk over to a woman. Lois talked to her and I gave her three dollars entry fee. I did see an older teenage boy expertly handling a machete cutting 
four foot lengths of palm fronds for some unknown purpose. We walked a narrow but well marked trail that went gradually down hill for perhaps a half mile or so.
Nan Madol was the ceremonial and political seat of the 
Saudeleur dynasty, which united Pohnpei's estimated 25,000 people. Set apart on the main island of Pohnpei, 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, but the distinctive megalithic architecture was probably not begun until perhaps the 12th or early 13th century. Little can be verified about the megalithic construction. Pohnpeian tradition claims that the builders of the Lelu complex on nearby 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. However, this is unlikely because radiocarbon dates have placed construction of Nan Madol prior to that of Lelu. Like Lelu, one major purpose of constructing a separate city was to insulate the nobility from the common people.
Nan Madol is about 200 acres in size and consists of 91 or 92 islets, depending on which reference you use. I have been trying to find a good arieal shot but have not found one yet.
Some refer to Nan Madol as a lost city. It has never been lost like Atlantis or Troy, but it is interesting that we have lost most knowledge of who, how and why it was built. Interesting that about 1400 AD many civilizations began to decline for some unknown reason, e.g., Mayan. Later if I have time I will try to expand this thought and see if there is any more information on other South Pacific empires at the time. Typically, civilizations expand until they out run their food supply or over farm/fish their resources or disease weakens the political infrastructure. Shamans that failed to predict the events probably suffered first.
A local story holds that when Nan Madol was being built a powerful magician living in the well inhabited region on the northwest of the island was solicited, and that his help was a major factor in completing the building. In particular, he was responsible for supplying the huge stone "logs" used in much of Nan Madol by "flying" them from their source to the construction site. Quite a handy tool to have but most likely constructed with local labor who most likely brought the material by raft or canoe. Multiton basalt columns were stacked much like log cabins were built elsewhere. The inside was then filled with crushed coral (coral sand is a very interesting compound by the way). This created dry land inside the fortified walls. I saw no evidence of any defensive positions or loop holes for archers to use.
The elite centre was a special place of residence for the nobility and of mortuary activities presided over by priests. Its population almost certainly exceeded 1,000, and may have at one point in time doubled that number. Altho
ugh many of the residents were chiefs, the majority were commoners. Nan Madol served, in part, as a means by which the ruling Saudeleur chiefs both organized and controlled potential rivals by requiring them to live in the city rather than in their home districts, where their activities were difficult to monitor. I suspect that like the Romans, they were held to discourage attacks on the city. Given the size I also believe that the Saudeleur collected tribute from many other islands in the South Pacific. Without a written history it is hard to know much about them. Surprisingly, there seems to be no archeologic activity in the area.
Oral traditions make references to small canals cut into the islets, allowing sacred eels to enter from the sea so that they could be honored through the sacrifice of captured sea turtles. Subsequent excavations have revealed traces of both the small canals and the sacrificial turtles. I have searched the web and found little scientific research on Nan Madol. Mostly bits and pieces of information from fellow travelers like myself.
Another legend is that Japan during their occupation just after the First World War found large skeletons buried in platinum coffins. They sent the platinum and the bones off to Nagasaki where they were lost in the atom bomb attack of WWII. Sounds like a number of other stories I have heard and seen on the Discovery Channel. The size of the bones would have made the occupants of Nan Madol 10 feet tall. Fits right into the mythos of Chariots of the Gods.
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 special purpose, like food preparation on Usennamw, canoe construction on Dapahu, and coconut oil preparation on Peinering. High walls surrounding tombs are located on Peinkitel, Karian, and Lemenkou, but the crowning achievement is the royal mortuary islet of Nandauwas, where walls of 18 to 25 feet (7.6 m) high surround a central tomb enclosure within the main courtyard.
Supposedly there was an escape tunnel beginning at the center of Nan Madol and boring down through the reef to exit into the ocean. Scuba divers continue to look for this "secret" route, but so far a complete tunnel has yet to be discovered.
On Nan Madol there is no fresh water and no food. You must go inland to gather water and grow food. For the Saudeleurs this was no problem; since they were the supreme rulers the people brought them what they needed. When the Sandeleurs were overthrown and the period of the Nahnmwarkis began, the Nahnmwarkis lived at Nan Madol, but they had to gather their water and grow their food themselves, causing them to eventually abandon Nan Madol and move back to their own districts — although other explanations exist for the deserting of the complex, such as a sharp population decline.
If you are going to Pohnpei, plan on spending at least a whole day at Nan Madol. The Village provides a tour and you can rent kayaks which I recommend.