'ghost City' in the Heart of the Ocean and the Mysteries of Puzzle

The existence of an ancient and mysterious, unique city left in the world on an uninhabited Pacific island is 'making it difficult' for archaeologists. This article explains the key facts and context behind ghost city.

Key Facts About Ghost City

The strange city of Nan Madol was discovered off the east coast of Pohnpei island, belonging to Micronesian federal sovereignty.

The ancient city was built by the top of a lagoon, consisting of nearly 100 artificial small islands (created from giant individual rocks) separated by narrow water channels and protected from seawater by a solid sea dike system consisting of 12 wave walls. Therefore, Nan Madol is often called. "Venice of the Pacific".

Previously, visiting the island was almost impossible due to the remote location. This made many people think of the famous Atlantis lost city.

Why Ghost City Matters

Archaeologist Dr. Patrick Hunt expressed concern: "Why do people build a vast mid-ocean city, completely isolated from all civilizations?".

According to researchers, on the island there are many interesting works that can date from the 1st or 2nd century.

Seen from satellite images, they found that on the island there are 7.6-meter-high walls and 5.2-meter-thick walls built by stacking the taller rocks. And according to estimates, the total number of prismatic basalt stones used to build these walls weighs about 250 million tons. Until now, researchers have not been able to explain why these stone walls were built so, because each block of basalt weighs up to 50 tons.

Nan Madol was the capital of the Saudeleur dynasty until 1628. So far, this is still considered a building wonder. The Saudeleur people spent several centuries creating stone buildings in this city. Buildings in Nan Madol are built from about 750,000 tons of black stone.

After the Saudeleur reign, Nan Madol was abandoned. In the city, many burial sites were discovered, which is the resting place of the Saudeleur family. As a result, the indigenous people of Pohnpei refused to approach the "ghost city" because they believed the place was haunted and they would die if they stayed in the island overnight.

Some pictures of the ancient city of Nan Madol: