Ancient site · City
Nan Madol
Nan Madol, off the island of Pohnpei in Micronesia, is a city of small artificial islets built in a lagoon and linked by a network of canals. Its walls are made of stacked columns of black basalt, some weighing several tonnes.
Islet building began by the 8th or 9th century, and the megalithic architecture from about 1180–1200 CE, much later than the other ancient sites here. It was the ceremonial and political seat of the Saudeleur dynasty, which ruled Pohnpei until about 1628. UNESCO listed it in 2016.
- Dates
- megalithic building from c. 1180–1200 CE; capital until c. 1628 (later than this atlas's ancient period)
- Still standing
- Yes
- UNESCO World Heritage
- Yes
- Location
- 6.84° N, 158.33° E
How we know
Pohnpei had no writing; the city is dated by radiocarbon and uranium-thorium dates on coral, and its history is also told in Pohnpeian oral tradition.
Nearby sites
- Kuk Swamp drainage from c. 7000 BCE (about 9,000 years ago)
- Teouma c. 1100–900 BCE (about 3,000 years old)
- Lapita type site (Site 13, Foué) dated to c. 800 BCE
- Hashihaka Kofun mid-3rd to early 4th century CE (debated)
- Daisenryō Kofun mid-5th century CE
- Ōyu Stone Circles c. 2000–1500 BCE