Rock-cut architecture
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Rock-cut architecture is the creation of structures, buildings, and sculptures by excavating solid rock where it naturally occurs. Intensely laborious when using ancient tools and methods, rock-cut ar
The Great Temple of Abu Simbel (c. 1280 BCE), one of the earliest known examples of rock-cut architecture
The Kailasa temple, part of the Ellora Caves
The 57-foot (17 m) tall monolithic Gommateshwara statue, built in 981 CE
Lycian tombs cut into the cliffs along the river in Dalyan, Turkey, 4th century BCE.
Indian rock-cut architecture
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Indian rock-cut architecture is more various and found in greater abundance in that country than any other form of rock-cut architecture around the world. Rock-cut architecture is the practice of crea
Rock-cut architecture
…working downward. This technique prevents stones falling on workers below. The three main uses of rock-cut architecture were temples (like those in India), tombs, and dwellings (like those in Cappadocia). A related term, monolithic architecture, refers to free-standing structures made of a single piece…
Cave 19, Ajanta, a 5th-century chaitya hall
Kailash Temple, Ellora cave 16
Saptaparni Cave, a retreat of the Buddha.
The famous carved door of Lomas Rishi, one of the Barabar Caves, dated to approximately 250 BC, displaying the first known Maurya reliefs.