Nan Madol: Venice of the Pacific

The Ancients

History Hit

History

4.7 • 3.5K Ratings

🗓️ 29 August 2021

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Nan Madol. It is one of the most awesome, enigmatic and unique ancient sites in the World, and yet most people have never heard the name. Labelled the ‘Venice of the Pacific’ by US aviators during the Second World War, this ancient Micronesian metropolis is not your usual city. Situated offshore, it was constructed on corals – ‘a floating citadel’. All across the site today, the remains of centuries-old monumental architecture can be seen, built on top of artificial islets.

So what do we know about this stunning ancient site in the Pacific Ocean? When do we think it was constructed? How did the ancient population go about building this off shore citadel? In this episode we’re going to delve into what we know (and what we don’t know) about Nan Madol. From the earliest archaeology at the site to the structural layout of this enigmatic urban centre.

Joining Tristan for this special podcast is Dr Felicia Beardsley, from the University of La Verne. A leading expert on Nan Madol and on the archaeology of many other ancient sites from across Micronesia, it was a real privilege to interview Felicia all about this extraordinary ‘lost city’.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	It's the Anchants on History Hit. I'm Tristan Hughes your host and in today's podcast
0:08.5	well, I think this podcast epitomizes why I love doing this podcast so much and why I
0:15.1	love ancient history. It's not an ancient Mediterranean or ancient nearest topic podcast
0:21.7	and as much as I love those subjects one of the great gifts of doing this is to once
0:26.4	in a while Shiner Light on an ancient site on ancient civilization on some aspect of
0:32.8	ancient history that is further afield somewhere else in the world and we are today doing just
0:39.3	that because we are going to Micronesia. We are going to an ancient city that until recently
0:46.7	I had never even heard of. It's called Nan Madole and at its height it was this powerful
0:55.5	centre of an empire that ruled over this area of Micronesia. It was a city built offshore,
1:03.5	built on corals. It's incredibly unique and the archaeology that survives is stunning and this
1:12.2	led me to get in contact with a wonderful brilliant archaeologist who's been focusing on this
1:17.4	era of the world for many many years now and that is Dr Felicia Beardsley. Felicia, her passion
1:25.1	for the archaeology at Nan Madole and for the archaeology in Micronesia is evident in the
1:30.6	podcast that you're going to hear right now. She's a fantastic speaker and she really brings
1:36.2	to life why this ancient city is a must see for you when you go on any future vacations.
1:45.4	So without further ado, here's Felicia talking in depth about why Nan Madole, this Venice of the
1:52.1	Pacific, is one of the most awesome ancient sites in the whole world. Felicia, it's wonderful
2:02.6	to have you on the podcast. Well thank you for inviting me to be here. I am so looking forward
2:08.2	to this. I have been listening to your other podcasts and enjoying them immensely. So I'm glad
2:15.0	I can be part of this. You are very very kind indeed and we have to get you on the show. I had to
2:21.6	get you on the show because I looked at your research. I looked at this ancient site in the Pacific
2:26.8	in Micronesia and it's absolutely stunning. It must be one of the most stunning ancient sites in
	...

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