AN ISLAND VENICE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1844, 2 September 1913, Page 8

AN ISLAND VENICE.

e ANCIENT RUINS. RELIC OF SUNKEN EMPIRE, The Caroline Islands have been described as "an enchanted region of archeology." A more romantic chaptcr of the jjaßt is to bo found there than it is possible to meet with in any other group in tho wido Pacific, save only Easter Island, with its colossal stono images, tho secret of which remains still unroad. Memorials of a forgotten race lie scattered on every hand throughout tho Carolines, notably at Ponape and Kusaie. 'i'horo are massive ruins at tho former place of a strange water town, an ancient island Venice. Hundreds of acres aro covered with tho remains of walls, canals, and earthworks of tho most stupendous charactor, built upon a general plan such as could only have been conceived by men of power and intelligence. By whom and for what purpose they wore built aro questions that have given riso to various speculations. Tho inhabitants of tho present day can tell us nothing. "The ruins have been there since tho boginning of things." That is all they know. It' w,n.s with a view to investigating tho subject and endeavouring to find some solution of tho problem that Professor Macmillan Brown, of Christchurch, visited the Carolines, and he has come back with an entirely new theory as to tho origin 'of the ruins. The Site of the Ruins. "The Governor of tho Carolinos (Dr. Kersting), who is one of Nature's gentlemen, put every facility in my way," ho said, in conversation with a Sydney pressman. "Ho provided mo with canvas and an escort of police, and I left Santiago, in the north of Ponape, for Metalanin, tho site, of one lot of these extraordinary structures. Oil the way we got stranded on a reef, and I got dreadfully sunburnt on the knees, tho skin peeling off both legs. We reached the ruins at 5 o'clock one morning, and I explored them till noon. They form a sort of Venice, built on tho reef, not on the land, and tin tho edgo of tho reef, so that behind tho great templo of Nautauch there is deep water even at low tide. The significance of this I shall explain later. Enclosing _ tho ruins, which cover a vast area, is a great breakwater of enormous stones, with one exit behind tho templo, so that the ruler of this city could escape even when tho tide was at its lowest. Tho

entrance is now blocked up with great lioaps of immense stones, and my theory .is that this was done by the last ruler, fearing an attack from some enemy from tho sea. "You can sail for miles along the canals of this great ruined city, and on either sido riso tho most stupendous breastworks, stones from sft. in diameter and 10ft. to 20fti in length being piled one on top of tho other. _ These breastworks enclose artificial islands formed on the reef, and on these islands stand great megalithic buildings. A Wondorful Spectaole. "The sight was one of tho most impressivo I have ever seen.. I have visited Stonelienge and Abebury, in England, Tiahuanaco in the Andes, Cuzco in Peru, and all the ruins of Central America and Mexico; yet I can safely say that these are the most stupendous ruins of all. Some of them are partly hidden by luxuriant vegetation, but they are nil in a fairly ■ good state of preservation, and will stand for thou-, sands of years yet. They must have involved hundreds of years of labour by ; thousands of men working in concert and under command. -It is perfectly true that the bl#cks of which tho walls are formed are basaltic crystals, .pentagons,. hexagons, and heptagons, but tliero must have been tremendous labour in separating theso from tho cliffs away in tho north of tho island, 20 miles off. And tliero must have been as much labour again in rafting them, down to this immense city, and still greater labour in getting them from the rafts on to these great walls. I calculate that no island like Poflape, which is only about 12 miles long and 12 miles broad, could ever have supported tho population from which was drawn tho muscle to build this titanic city. Ponape at its utmost could not support moro than 20,000 peoplo. If you allow 20 per cent, as able-bodied men you ■get v 4OOO. "Now, no community can afford to allow more than 20 per cent, of its able-bodied men to bo drawn off on , works of what wo might call luxury. The rest must bo producing food and , other necessaries. We, therefore, have only 800 of these able-bodied men copable of being used at any ono time on the building of theso stupendous structures. I calculate that not less than 10,000 men would be needed to do the work of quarrying, rafting, and build-

ii)g. Another Atlantis. "It. therefore follows tliat tlie dynasty tliat built this city must ha,ve had command of ten times as many big islands as Ponape. In other words, that empire must have sunk, for there arc no such islands there now. There must have been, a great area over which those Emperors ruled. Where is it now? I say that it is under the sea."