Adam's Bridge, also called Rama's Bridge, is a string of coral islands and shoals in the Indian Ocean that connects India with Sri Lanka. The length of this unique geographical feature is 48 kilometers. Until the 15th century, the "bridge" was used as a pedestrian path connecting the island with the mainland. Later, due to earthquakes and typhoons, it was partially destroyed and sank under water. Many travelers, including Marco Polo, confirm in their records the existence of a walking path here.
Legends about the origin of the "bridge"
According to Hindu beliefs, this object was once built by the divine emperor Rama. The subjects and allies of the Indian king, including the army of monkeys, built an isthmus in order to cross it to Sri Lanka and fight there with the demon Ravana, who captured the beloved Rama Sita.
A well-known Muslim legend says that through the local shallow water Adam went to the area of the modern city of Jeddah to meet Eve there after the couple was expelled from Paradise.
Natural education or not?
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Until now, there is no consensus as to whether the Adam's Bridge is an artificial or natural formation. Many experts argue that the land appeared here not at all as a result of the movement of the earth's crust. Thus, geological processes are not responsible for the occurrence of this object. Anyway, the formation of such a strip of land in the ocean can hardly be natural.
Scientists have repeatedly investigated the structure of the Rama Bridge. Experts drilled and sampled wells in several places of the isthmus. Analysis showed that there is sand below, on which numerous regular boulders with dimensions of 2.5 by 1.5 meters are laid. The soil is poured on top. This, according to experts, may indicate a man-made occurrence of a geographic object. Satellite images also indicate that the "bridge" has a clear, too flat structure.
Indian archaeologists decided to put an end to this question, once and for all determining whether the Adam's Bridge is a natural formation. Former head of the Indian Council for Historical Research, Deyanath Tripathi, claims that there is no evidence of the man-made "bridge", and nowhere, except in religious legends, is it stated about the construction of this isthmus by people.
However, many disagree with the official. Thus, the local underwater archaeologist Alok Chaudhary considers the Rama Bridge to be a man-made object. According to the researcher, the isthmus was erected about 4000 years ago by an ancient civilization that fled to Sri Lanka from the Indian subcontinent from the Aryan tribes. “However, without field work, it is impossible to talk about anything with one hundred percent accuracy,” the scientist emphasizes. Chaudhary will lead an underwater archaeological expedition to Adam's Bridge this summer.