Nomination file 1503

658 Pages·2015·19.41 MB·English

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary......................................................................................................4
1. Identification of the Property...................................................................................12
2. Description..............................................................................................................18
3. Justification for Inscription.......................................................................................51
4. State of Conservation and Factors Affecting the Property......................................94
5. Protection and Management of the Property........................................................106
6. Monitoring.............................................................................................................126
7. Documentation......................................................................................................135
8. Contact Information...............................................................................................164
9. Signature on Behalf of the State Party..................................................................166
Appendix A: Draft Management Plan for Nan Madol................................................167
Appendix B: Inventory of the Islet of Nan Madol.......................................................191
Appendix C: Survey Report of the Present State of Nan Madol...............................312
Appendix D: Strategic Sustainable Tourism and Ecosystem Plan……………….…..362
Appendix E: Draft parts on Lelu components…………………………………………..397

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The FSM Office of National Archives, Culture and Historic Preservation
(NACH) is beholden to Wasa Lapalap Isipahu, Nahnmwarki of Madolenihmw, His
Majesty Kerpet Ehpel, and would like to thank him for blessing this endeavour. The
following provided invaluable support: Pohnpei State Governor, Honorable John Ehsa,
Senator David Panuelo (FSM Congress), Dr. Rufino Mauricio (Secretary, FSM
Department of Education), Mr. Marion Henry (Secretary, FSM Department of
Resources and Development), Pohnpei State Department of Land and Natural
Resources (Director Pius Hadley), Pohnpei State Historic Preservation Office (Chief
Mordain David), Kosrae State Historic Preservation Office (The late Director Berlin
Sigrah, and Standon Andrew), Madolenihmw Municipal Government (Chief
Magistrate Petrick Ringlen), Mr. Ricky Carl (Deputy Director, The Nature
Conservancy), Conservation Society of Pohnpei (Director Eugene Joseph), Mr.
Masao Silbanuz (Oaron Maka Madolenihmw), The US National Park Service (NPS),
Mr. Aaron Smith (NGO KnowledgeWell), Dr. Kenneth Rehg (University of Hawaii at
Manoa), Mr. Damian Sohl, Dr. Ron van Oers (WITRAP, Shanghai), and Dr. Masayuki
Aizawa (Nippon Koei Co., Ltd.).
UNESCO’s financial assistance was vital to this project. Dr. Akatsuki
Takahashi (UNESCO, Apia) has been instrumental in her guidance throughout the
whole process. The Japan Foundation funded two workshops in Pohnpei in 2011 and
2012. The Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage (JCIC-
Heritage) funded a survey project on the current preservation state of Nan Madol in
2010 (Kataoka et al. 2012, see Appendix C), led by Ms. Tomomi Haramoto (then
associate fellow of JCIC-Heritage). A second survey of the site was conducted in
2014 with funding assistance from the Japanese Government’s Grants-in-Aid for
Scientific Research (Project Number: 25300042, Principal Investigator: Osamu
Kataoka) (Kataoka, Ishimura and Nagaoka in prep.).
The NACH wishes to thank the following experts for their valuable
contributions to this nomination dossier:

Dr. Felicia Beardsley (University of La Verne)
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Dr. Tomo Ishimura (Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties)
Dr. Osamu Kataoka (Kansai Gaidai University)
Dr. Kanefusa Masuda (ICOMOS-ICORP)
Dr. Takuya Nagaoka (NGO Pasifika Renaissance/ University of Auckland)
Dr. Anita Smith (Deakin University)
Mr. Adam Thompson (Independent Archaeologist; former FSM Staff Archaeologist)
Mr. Stefan Kraus (PhD Candidate, University of South Florida; former FSM Staff
Cultural Anthropologist)

Also, Ms. Katherine Seikel (Australian National University) who proofread the
draft and provided useful comments. Dr. Steve Athens (International Archaeological
Research Institute, Inc.) and Dr. Mark McCoy (Southern Methodist University) kindly
granted us use of their data from their unpublished work.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
State party
Federated States of Micronesia

State, province or region
Madolenihmw Municipality, Pohnpei Island, Pohnpei State

Name of property
Nan Madol: Ceremonial Center of Eastern Micronesia

Geographical coordinates to the nearest second
N 6° 50’ 21”, E 158° 19’ 42”

Textual description of the boundaries of the nominated property
This is the first nomination of a serial property ‘Ceremonial Centers of Eastern
Micronesia’ that will in future include two components – Nan Madol (the property of
this nomination) and Lelu (to be nominated in future, see Appendix E for draft parts
on Lelu components).
Nan Madol is an archaeological site on the southeast coast of Pohnpei Island.
The boundaries of the site encompass the entire site of man-made islets constructed
on the reef adjacent to Temwen Island. A buffer zone has been delineated which
surrounds the nominated property and includes the whole of Temwen Island and
incorporates properties of the major stakeholders who have provide access to the site
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and have agreed to support the World Heritage nomination.

Map of the nominated property, showing boundaries and buffer zone (based on the
data from McCoy, Alderson and Thompson in press).

Criteria under which property is nominated
Criteria iii, iv and vi
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Draft statement of Outstanding Universal Value
a. Brief synthesis
The site of Nan Madol is the larger of two monumental stone complexes known
as the Ceremonial Centers of Eastern Micronesia, centers of complex political,
religious and social systems that developed in the Micronesia from around 1200 AD.
Nan Madol on the island of Pohnpei and the center of Lelu on Kosrae attest to the
emergence of highly stratified chiefdom systems and governance evident in many
islands or archipelagos of the Pacific Ocean from around 1000 years ago.
Nan Madol and Lelu, separated by 550 km of open sea, are megalithic
settlement complexes constructed on artificial, man-made islands that extend across
a shallow reef platform within the fringing reef of the Pohnpei and Kosrae respectively.
Nan Madol is the larger and more intact of the two ceremonial centers, an
elaborate and megalithic complex consisting of more than ninety artificial islets of
basalt and coral boulders, separated by navigable channels, that provide the
foundation on which massive basalt structures have been constructed with massive
lengths of prismatic/columnar basalt placed in header and stretcher patterns that
surround tombs, residential complexes, and sites for sacred or ceremonial activities.
Construction of the islets is likely to have commenced around 1200 AD on the
reef adjacent to Temwen Island, a small island off the southeast coast of Pohnpei
following initial human colonization of the island around 2000 years ago. In the
following millennium, as population and settlements grew alongside an increasing
reliance on agriculture, chiefly societies emerged eventually to be unified across
Pohnpei under a paramount chief, the Saudeleur. Nan Madol became the place of
residence, administration and ritual for the Saudeleur and their elite. The
consolidation of chiefly power under the Saudeleur Dynasty is associated with the
major phase of construction of the massive stone structures of Nan Madol. Existing
islets were expanded and new islets and structures were built using huge blocks of
stacked prismatic basalt mined elsewhere on Pohnpei and transported to the site.
Dwellings existed on many of the islets while others had special purposes including
food preparation and canoe making. Oral traditions place the downfall of the
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Saudeleur around 1600 AD when Isokelekel, son of the Pohnpeian thunder god,
overthrew the Saudeleur. He established a new political order with himself as the
paramount chief or Nahnmwarki of Madolenihmw, the chiefdom adjacent to Nan
Madol. By the 1820s people no longer lived at Nan Madol but it continues to retain a
religious and traditional significance. The Nahnmwarki system continues into the
present as the traditional system of governance in Pohnpei. Ownership of Nan Madol
is held by the Nahnmwarki title and transferred to each successive Nahnmwarki. This
is a traditional system passed down since the end of the Saudeleur dynasty around
1500-1600 AD.
Across the Pacific, following an initial colonization period, as island populations
gradually expanded, semi-autonomous polities emerged to compete for resources,
alliances and the struggle for the power reigned supreme. Populations became rooted
in their political and economic boundaries, creating a depth of generational links tied
to the land and sea. Sedentary settlements increased their reliance on cultivated
foods. The archaeological evidence, oral histories and genealogies of the Pacific
islands confirm that the millennium prior to European contact was a time of great
social change throughout the Pacific. Environmental and economic pressures
associated with the development of an increasing political stratification led to the
appearance of complex chiefly societies that became the systems of traditional or
customary governance that were encountered by Europeans from the 16th century
and continue to structure present-day Pacific Island societies.
This development of distinctive chiefly social structures within the Pacific is a
phenomenon associated with the appearance of monumental architecture in many
parts of the Pacific from around 1000 years ago. Examples of this include Eastern
Polynesia, Tonga and Samoa and Micronesia. Nan Madol is an outstanding
Micronesian expression of this pan-Pacific phenomenon, tangible evidence of this
increasing social, political and economic stratification, and a symbol of the power of
the chiefs to command the labor to build monumental structures and mobilize a
significant labor force.
The outstanding universal value of the Ceremonial Center of Nan Madol lies in
its being a unique Pacific Island expression of the global association of monumental
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architecture with the emergence of social complexity in a region and the development
of elaborate political hierarchies that have the capacity to create impressive,
monumental structures as emblems of power and authority.

b. Justification of criteria
Criterion (iii) bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural
tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared.
Nan Madol, a Ceremonial Center of Eastern Micronesia, bears exceptional
testimony to the development of chiefly societies in the Pacific Islands. The huge
scale, technical sophistication and concentration of elaborate megalithic structures of
Nan Madol bear testimony to complex social and religious practices of the island
societies that persisted for over 500 years.
Criterion (iv) be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or
technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in
human history.
Nan Madol is an outstanding small island example of monumental architecture
associated with the appearance of stratified societies and centralization of power that
is evidenced in many parts of the world. The megalithic stone complex of Nan Madol
includes chiefly dwellings, ritual/ceremonial sites, mortuary structures and domestic
sites that bear unique testimony to the origin and development of chiefly societies
evidenced across the Pacific Islands from around 1000 years ago and associated
with increasing island populations and intensification of agricultural production.
Criterion (vi) be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions,
with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal
significance. Nan Madol is an expression of the origin and development of traditional
chiefly institutions and systems of governance in the Pacific Islands that continue into
the present in the form of the Nahnmwarki system under which Nan Madol is
traditionally owned and managed.

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c. Statement of integrity
The integrity of Nan Madol is ensured by the inclusion within the boundaries of
the nominated property all the key structures that demonstrate the architectural forms
and diversity or construction techniques and materials in both components of the
property. The boundary of Nan Madol includes all islets listed by Hambruch (1910) in
the first full survey and recording of the complex.

d. Statement of authenticity
The authenticity of the nominated property is held in the setting,
interrelationships, forms and variety of the structures and canals of both properties.
There has not been any reconstruction of the structures apart from minor repairs. Nan
Madol has not been impacted by major developments although vegetation and
siltation on the site are compromising its conservation and the visual and aesthetic
appreciation of property.
Archaeological research over the past 30 years at Nan Madol has provided
evidence of the origin, development and construction of the megalithic complex and
the activities at each site. Oral traditions and historical records provide insight into the
social history and the centrality of Nan Madol in establishing the Pohnpeian system of
traditional governance through the Nahnmwarki system.
Archaeological excavation has been limited and much of the archaeological
deposit remains intact and potentially offers further information about the specific
functions of various islets and social interactions reflected in the site.
The purpose of each of the islets has been passed down by oral tradition.
Minimal archaeological excavation has occurred within Nan Madol. Instead, research
has focused on mapping and surface collection. Development has remained well
outside the boundaries of the nominated property. The site was included on the US
National Register of Historic Places in 1980. A single small path has been
constructed with removable wooden bridges providing access for tourists. Some
archaeological features extend beyond the boundary of the nominated property into
the buffer zone. These features include areas on the small surrounding islands that
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