Looking Deeper into the ancient Rama Setu Bridge

When it comes to underwater archaeology, Rama Setu (also known as Rama’s Bridge or Adam’s Bridge,) is definitely one of the most perplexing. The “bridge” spans close to 48km and consists of a chain of limestone rocks between the southern coast of India and Sri Lanka. The bridge is currently completely submerged, but is said to have been passable by foot up until the late 15th century.

 

Is Ram Setu Real?

If the question is simply to whether or not the bridge is real, then yes, the bridge is 100% there. Although the Rama’s Bridge / Adam’s Bridge is currently completely underwater, it can still be seen through satellite imagery.

The Myths around Ram Setu

Probably the most interesting thing about Ram Setu is that it corroborates with the ancient Ramayana epic, written about 2,500 years ago. Based on astronomical information, the events that take place in the Ramayana are said to have happened roughly 7,000 years ago, although according to other calculations, it could be significantly more than that.

According to the story, the evil king Ravana kidnaps princess Sita, the wife of Lord Ram. After searching for many days, he is convinced that she is trapped on “Lanka,” which is separated from India by water. Ram then instructs his army of ape people to build a bridge across the water, thus saving the princess Sita.

Is Adam’s Bridge man made or a natural formation?

As with many underwater archaeological discoveries such as the Bimini road or the Yonaguni monument, the question was whether this bridge was really man made or was it just a natural formation. 

A study of the area showed the rocks of the bridge to be roughly 7,000 years old. The interesting thing however, is that the rocks actually seemed to predate the surrounding sand, indicating that the bridge came first, and the sand filled it up underneath via normal waves and currents over the years. Another publication in 2007 stated that the bridge “may be manmade.”
 
While this is not conclusive evidence, there have been many other studies of the site. A team of divers that analysed the bridge stated that the bridge was not made of the usual marine material, as should be the case if it was a natural formation. Instead, it is formed of stones that can be found on either side of the bridge, where there is also evidence of ancient quarrying.

 

So how about the ape people?

Okay, so this is probably the weirdest part and this is pretty just my made up thoughts that come to my head late at night. Homo Sapiens are roughly 200,000 years old. In the process of our evolution, we seem to have made a very fast and sudden jump in intelligence, rather than gradually earning our place at the top of the food chain like creatures such as sharks.
 
That being said, is it possible that the army of “ape people” consisted of previous versions of the “homo” species which were much more ape-like than our current homo sapiens?

 

In conclusion

Personally, I think that regardless of whether Ram Setu is manmade or natural – and regardless of whether it is 1,000 years old, 7,000 years old, or a million years old – the interesting thing its sheer existence which seems to bind together reality as we know it and the world of myths and legends as stated in the Ramayana.

Whether Ram built the bridge, or whether he found it, whether he really had an army of ape people or whether the story was embellished over millennia, it still remains a fascinating piece of a history that we know almost nothing about.

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About Flame Rozario

A self-proclaimed Crypto-anthropologist with a personal interest in ancient intelligent civilizations, underwater archaeology, and the truth that lies behind the legend. I write about a combination of fact, fantasy, and my own personal theories. Why? Because I can.