Ajanta and Ellora are the pride of Maharashtra

As mentioned before, water was a major agent in the creation of these caves. Geologists say that the formation of these caves can be traced back all the way to the Cambrian period which was about six hundred million years ago. Back in the time which is present day Nevada and western Utah, the land was covered by shallow, warm, inland sea. There were msny thick layers of sediments located at the sea bottom. Some of the layers consisted of silt, others were sand, and there were others that were made up of a limy substance that came from minute shell creatures’ decomposed bodies. In one of those limy layers was to formulate into limestone to create the Lehman Caves. That limy layer was compacted by the weight of other latter sediments deposited on top of it. Since there was so much pressure, eventually that limy layer started to turn into limestone. Limestone is a cystalline or bioclastic rock that is composed of calcite. Later on as there was an increase in heat and pressure, some of the limestone formulated into some low-grade marble. Marble is a nonfoliated, metamorphic that is composed of calcite and/or dolomite. Its texture is fine to coarse. According to “The Formation of Lehman Caves”, “Later, great forces under the earth’s crust caused the layers of the rock to buckle. This mountain range (the buckle) rose gradually until its peaks were thousands of feet above the valley

The last article talks about the 59th Unnamed Cave, in Florida. This cave is located in the eastern part of the Florida Panhandle. From the dates of the artifacts and the dates of the glyph, the site was occupied in the Late Woodland period. The cave was discover in 2007 when a group of cave explorer saw fine engravings on the wall. This site was the first cave art site that was found in Florida and it is the second rock art site that was found in the states. Rock art is very rare in Florida, but now with the site found there is a wider perspective on the importance of rock art. The site did not only include the petroglyph drawing of the past, but it included some artifacts that was use to help date the time that the cave was occupied.

This tour of the stupa was virtual because it is in Sri Lanka. The Ruwanwelisaya is a circular drum on a square base with a long square succession off of the top of the dome. This structure is very sacred to Buddhists around the world because it architecturally entails Buddha’s teachings. Its dome

This study is focus on the 11th Unnamed Cave in Tennessee. This cave was the first of its kind because this cave is the only one that was found to contain pictograph, petroglyph, and mud glyph all in one site. The article explain that the site is significant because there are evidence to showed that the site underwent a series of diverse but interrelated uses. The first out of all the cave sites to contain all three different form of rock art. Also, because the site was found in the eighteenth century which had some form of documentations on the uses of the cave. The authors believes that since the cave showed many different kind of activities, it is possible that the activities reflect a complex behaviors more elaborated and sacred than

The planet that we reside on has a long, enduring history. Today, remnants can still be found that tell the history of the land, and of its inhabitants; many of these remnants, however, have been destroyed over time. The Bamiyan Valley in Afghanistan has a rich and complicated history that continues up to the present day. The residents of Bamiyan live neighboring a wall of cliffs, speckled with caves. Bordering the city on each side, two abandoned niches are carved into the cliff face, each towering over 100 meters. These great niches once held two Buddha statues that looked out over the Bamiyan Valley, but now stand empty. Once a witness to the history of the area, these Buddhas were destroyed in 2001 when the Taliban, a terrorist group, destroyed them due to their religious imagery.

Large underground burial chambers hewn out of natural rock were a norm at Tarquinia. Mural paintings adorn many of these underground tombs. Banqueting couples, servants,and musicians celebrate the joys of the good life, and scenes of dancers occupy the flanking left and right walls. In characteristic Etruscan fashion, the banqueters, servants, and entertainers all make exaggerated gestures with unnaturally enlarged hands. Just like other tombs, this tomb is composed of a single chamber with wall decorations painted in fresco. Like other tombs of the time, this tomb’s ceiling is painted in a checkered scheme of alternating colors, perhaps meant to evoke the temporary fabric tents that were erected near the tomb for the actual celebration of the funeral banquet.

Period I is believed that the stone age builders began in approximately 3100 BC and ended in about 2300 BC. Neolithic workers set out to create a nearly perfect circle out of soil and chalk using only stone tools and animal bones. They most likely pounded a wooden stake into the ground at the point that was to be the center of the circle, attach along rope to it, and marked the circular path of the ropes unattached end. Workers, using pickaxes made from red deer antler and shovels made from the shoulder blades of oxen, then dug deep pits into the chalky earth all the way around the circle. Most of the pits were then connected, forming a fairly continuous ditch running the circumference of the circle and earthen embankment of the displaced soil. They left a wide opening on the north east side for the main entrance into the circle, and a small gap on the southeast side may have been left there to form a smaller, alternate entrance (Wendy Mass 36) There were 56 evenly spaces holes around its perimeter. And at the entrance there were a pair of stones. (fortunecity 1)

Pech Merle cave in south-western France has been a sacred sanctuary for at least five times as long as the Great Pyramid of Egypt. Unlike the pyramid the entire cave was man made, for the most part, the innards of the cave were made out of limestone massif by an underground river. When the river switched up its the course a four kilometer long cave was left behind. It stayed untouched and no human ever visited, until humans finally

Despite the discrepancy between the construction time of the two settlements, Hattusas and Persepolis, there are certain differences and similarities that can be found when analysing the two cities. The city of Hattusas (1360 B.C.), capital of Hittite empire, was placed on a mountain slope, on about 300 acres and framed by a four mile stone based wall. Its location facilitated it’s defence tactics also making it harder to be attacked. The main wall varies in shape from rectangular to polygonal thus outlining the asymmetrical shape of the city.

the pillars and any connecting walls and floors. The pillars and load bearing walls, which were essentially all of the outside walls, pillars, foundation walls, and the inner walls of the arena can be all classified as Travertine, while all of the inner walls, stairs, hallways, and nonbearing structures can be called Tufa. Because of the scaffold system, and the huge amount of people on the site, work did not go in much of a particular order after the foundations were built. Workers were able to work on any section, and slowly the entire thing was pieced together like a jig saw puzzle. As the travertine was finished, finish workers, or master carvers and master masons followed and covered it with a facade of nice bricks, polished and carved out the pillars and places statues of gods/goddesses or emperor, while bronze shields were placed in between the arches and on the walls.

In this essay, I will compare and contrast two sacred spaces; Ise Jingu of Japan and the Great Stupa in India. First I will describe the sacred spaces and their artistic features, values and importance. Afterwards, will come the analysis comparing the two in architectural design and decisions, rather than the difference of religious belief or purpose.

The Arch of Titus is rather quite a traditional structure. It is located in a prominent position along Rome’s Via Sacra (Sacred Way). Its current appearance results in which it was much restored during the nineteenth century. The arch was once used as a medieval fortress as defence and a chamber was built into the arch’s vault. The large holes that were made were to support the beams and still can be seem marring the

The Chauvet Cave holds the earliest human paintings known in history. Because of its importance, the access to the cave is restricted, except for a few archeologists and paleontologists. However, Herzog’s crew got the opportunity to gain access to the cave and film. In general, caves are very sensitive, fragile, and narrow places. If the caves haven’t been retouched by man’s work, they are very uncomfortable and almost impossible to walk inside. However, it is necessary tot remain untouched or barely untouched so they keep their essence and important aspects such as the paintings.

This Hypogeum of Hal Saflieni, Malta (Link 5-a) is a series of built in odd and disorderly fashion, which are linked by passages, stairways and caverns. This is the only available underground structure of the Bronze Age whose creation was completed even before that of Great Pyramid and Stonehenge. Built during 3600 to 2500 BC, its weird architecture consists of many vaults, domes, spirals, carved pillars, niches and corbelled arches. This place has been shrouded in mystery and a center of attraction for architects, archeologists, acoustic experts, anthropologists, forensic experts, neurologists, and psychologists for certain reasons.

The largest chamber within this cave has no paintings except one that is drawn at the far end of this chamber. The researchers stated that there are no paintings close to the entrance because the paintings were to be drawn in the dark where there is no access to sunlight. One of the interesting areas inside the cave is the Panel of the horses, beneath it is a hole where water used to pour in. This is possibly why they painted these horses around the hole.