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Nan Madol

Nan Madol
Image: NOAA, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain. Resized; not otherwise altered. All credits.
LocationOff the east coast of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia
Conventional dateMonument building by about 1180–1200 CE (direct U–Th coral dates).
Alternative date proposals
  • Popular authors: Much older construction by a lost Pacific culture
What is measured
  • Nandauwas tomb enclosure wall built by about 1172–1186 CE; basalt columns sourced from across Pohnpei. [1]

Nearly 100 artificial islets of stacked columnar basalt in a lagoon, seat of the Saudeleur dynasty.

Sources

  1. McCoy, M. D. et al. (2016). Earliest direct evidence of monument building at Nan Madol (Pohnpei, Micronesia) identified using 230Th/U coral dating and geochemical sourcing of megalithic architectural stone. Quaternary Research 86(3). doi:10.1016/j.yqres.2016.08.002 data

Dates are summarised in our own words from the sources listed. Conventional and alternative dates are both reported; "measured" lists only dated or documented findings. Methodology.