Rama Bridge: a shallow in the ocean or the oldest man-made bridge in the world

The Rama bridge, as the Indians call it, is located in the Indian Ocean and is a stretch of sandbanks and islands 50 kilometers long between the Hindustan Peninsula and Sri Lanka. From an airplane, this interesting structure looks like a partially flooded bridge with a width of 1.5 to 5 kilometers, and not as a natural object. Historians and geographers, archaeologists and oceanologists still can not decide what it is: a fancy sandbank in the ocean or a grandiose structure erected by human hands.

As far back as the 15th century, the Rama bridge, or the Adam bridge, as the Europeans call it, was really a bridge. The level of the world ocean was lower than the present, therefore, a land plot protruded above the water. The Rama Bridge is also captured on the ancient map of Ceylon in the Ptolemy Atlas, as well as on nautical English and Portuguese maps. According to scientists, it was later destroyed by an earthquake.

According to the researchers, the Rama bridge, or what remains of it today, divides the Indian Ocean into two bays with surprisingly different properties. To the south of the isthmus is Mannar Bay, the water of which is clear and clean, emerald in color, and the bay itself is usually calm and serene. But the Polk Bay, which lies north of the Rama Bridge, on the contrary, is known for its gale-force winds, and the water in it is muddy, with many dissolved particles. It is believed that this sandbank significantly softened the impact of the tropical cyclone, which hit India in 2004.

But the most interesting thing about this bridge, of course, is not this. Its surface rises in some places above the surrounding ocean floor by 12 meters. There are areas where it really can be called a shallow, there is a bridge above the seabed only 1-2 meters. But what about the 12-meter difference, which suggests an artificial embankment? Moreover, studies of recent years show that this "sandbank" has a very specific structure. At the base of the Rama bridge is a layer of sand with a thickness of 3 to 5 meters, and giant boulders begin above, the size of which reaches 2 meters. All this made scientists think and take a fresh look at the Indian epic Ramayana.

According to this oldest work, on the orders of King Rama, a bridge was built between India and Sri Lanka, and humanoid monkeys built it. Numerous murals and sculptures in India, Indonesia and other countries illustrate these events. These were monkeys or ancient primitive people, it is not known, but the version that this bridge was built, and was not formed as a result of natural processes at the bottom of the ocean, is gaining more and more supporters. In addition, not so long ago, Indian experts conducted an analysis of the rocks of which the bridge is built. It turned out that their age is comparable to the time when events from the epic Ramayana took place, that is, they are more than 10,000 years old. You can relate to folk tales in different ways, but if you are lucky enough to get to these parts, be sure to visit the Rama bridge. This is a truly outstanding building that delights and makes you think.