Bizarre India Architecture Proves Ancient Advanced Technology Defying Accepted Mainstream Toolkit

India always strikes up images of notorious temples and phenomenal engine structures there so numerous and all are steeped in mystery some have been researched heavily and many have their history known the biggest and most remarkable are the most puzzling baffled scholars have desperately tried to explain them often ignoring the obvious the evidence and ignoring the historical mythology that goes with them the temples of ancient are so diverse so scattered throughout India and so plentiful you could do a documentary a day for a year on them we have however whittled them down to the most unique the most unexplained and the most awe-inspiring of them join us as we delve into the realms of living mythology encased in stone the mysterious agentive caves originally carved out and used around 2,000 BCE the mysterious agenda caves were abandoned and left alone for many centuries as the forests grew up around them and hid them from view it was not until 1819 when John Smith a British officer hunting tiger in the area stumbled upon the cave entrance they lie in maharashtra in the arange abed district archeological records indicate that it took many years and many different people carved them out to transform them into an appropriate refuge for buddhist monks who lived in the wilds at the time some tales suggest that they were also considered a spiritual pathway to the afterlife the ejecta caves include 29 different chambers that were cut by hand straight out of the mountain some of them have openings to the sky above so they're illuminated in the summer and winter solstices this indicates a highly sophisticated understanding of the cosmological events and calendar that must indicate some considerable importance to the cave system they were not simply built as a place to get out of the rain India's unique and having these underground temples that people spend a lot of time and effort to create although some are naturally-occurring caverns most that were used by the people of long ago were augmented and decorated with mostly religious art the agentive caves are just one example of the amazing combination of medieval engineering and culture that combined to create these unique temple spaces many consider the murals contained within the case to be some of the finest examples of religious artwork still in existence the agenda caves exist on a u-shaped ridge about 76 meters up the side of the mountain far below flows the well gaura River unfortunately a few of the caves have collapsed since their discovery and the designation as a world heritage site efforts are underway to preserve as much as possible part of this is led by Raj Diaz Singh in association with the Archaeological Survey of India his team has been using innovative methods to restore the colors and details of the artwork in the caves ever since they began the work in 1999 the restoration project has shown things about these temple caves that were not known before the sheer amount of work that must have gone into their creation is mind-blowing they used not only local materials but some semi-precious stones like lapis lazuli that would have been traded from Afghanistan even as experts work to restore the artwork in the caves themselves tourist traffic is picked up considerably and threatens to cause additional destruction to these important historical Buddhist sites to deter them several replicas of the largest Ajanta caves have been constructed at a visitor center nearby the vitalik temple Vijayanagara Empire hampi the long history of the vethala temple complex has been filled with times of great appreciation destruction by the Mughals and the British and a researching interest in its protection historians believe that this unique structure represents one of the most intriguing examples of a culture support of music and instrumentation that exists India the artwork and sculpture are all incredible the inside includes several massive pillars carved from stone a statue of the chariot with wheels that actually turn and a collection of smaller pillars that play musical notes when struck unfortunately when this was discovered by the British they decided to cut open a few of the pillars to see if something inside caused the sounds the sight in hampi was preserved quite effectively over the centuries the unique quality of the Vitara temple musical pillars undoubtedly encourage people to protect moreso than some other historical sites around the country the temple itself is protected by a tall watch tower and a lot of open space to provide clear lines of sight the structure itself includes an open-air pavilion called the Lotus Mahal with a balcony and high domed roof a larger structure nearby acted as a stable for Elephants the entryway into the location is called the bhima gateway and features a unique design of switchbacks and angles that would make it very difficult for any invaders to navigate successfully besides the musical pillars the vittala temple features a stunning collection of gardens frescoes and carvings dedicated to the Ramayana other nearby temples such as the Krishna one are currently being restored to their former glory there are chambers under the ground at this site that are now filled with water it's unknown whether they would have been a type of cistern or pool when the temple was originally constructed or would have been dry and used for other ceremonies or storage the hampi ruins also include the queen's palace when it comes to the decorations that grace the entire temple complex the main focus appears to be on Vishnu and Lakshmi although many people come to view the incredible carvings and paintings the musical pillars are definitely of great interest another unique feature that combines artistry with architectural science becomes evident in a Northwest room that looks relatively plain at first glance however using a technique similar to a pinhole camera the Sun at certain times of the day casts a shadow on the nearby virupaksha temple through a gap in the stone onto the floor of the chamber the precision of this architectural feat created so many centuries ago still arouses the curiosity and wonder of people today maha bodhi temples the buddhist tradition in india includes a rich history of knowledge culture and artwork that appears at various locations all around the country in a town named gaya lies the beginning of this spiritual belief this is the location where Prince Siddhartha traveled to rest under a people tree and give penance in order to help the world find peace and an end of the strife and suffering that plagued it for so long his spiritual journey transformed him into Buddha this led to the initial construction of the mahabodhi temple around 250 BC by the Emperor named Ashoka the temple itself was augmented and expanded for quite some time as a representation of the early Indian brick construction style the MA Bodhi temple is both of spiritual importance and demonstrates the historical construction techniques used during that period to symbolize the tree where Siddhartha experiences transformation the central temple of the complex rises 50 metres above the ground there are six other buildings as well as the lovely Lotus pond here all those years ago the buddha stayed in quiet repose and atonement as part of his spiritual journey this is just one example of how the artistry and architecture of the site combines with the importance of its religious underpinnings not only was the mahabodhi temple an important place for the Buddhists in India but it was accented by Chinese visitors such as : mong-koo visited the site in 1022 he inscribed a quote on the north side of the building itself that refers Maitreya a hero of some note in the legend surrounding the Buddhist tradition he and his fellow monks recorded how they brought a sacred silk robe all the way from China to drape over the statues seen in the temple the group visited the mahabodhi temple four different times over the years at one point he had a copy of the statue created to bring back to China with him where it became quite a sensation and was copied again and again for the Buddhist followers the statue housed within the temple became somewhat more important than the location itself although some questions exist about who exactly bade it or when the accepted story is that the brahmin builders of the structure itself searched for quite some time for a sculptor who could do justice to the figure finally a man appeared who claimed he could complete it as long as he was locked inside a room with some clay and a lamp for six months the builders did not want to wait that long and open the door early to find an exquisite statue completed except for a small part of its chest the legends continued that a monk dreamt that Maitreya himself formed his own statue and would have completed it if the people were not so impatient Konark temple one of the most well known temples in India is simply called the Sun temple at Konark which was named after the words of corner kona and the Sun itself ARCA it was constructed near the shores of the Bay of Bengal and still stands as an impressive feat of architecture and artistry from long ago some of the most impressive aspects that visitors flock from all corners of the country and the world to see include a statue of the Sun gods chariot that he uses to pull the Sun across the sky every day this includes three meter wide wheels seven horses and two lions who were responsible for protecting the entire conveyance from elephants and other threats not only is the sculpture and art impressive at the Sun temple at Konark there are also multiple sundials that clearly demonstrate the people's skill with cosmology and timekeeping the Sun dials are still accurate to the minute these undoubtedly show just how detail-oriented the builders of the Konark temple were in their celebration and worship of the Sun God besides the Sun dials they also erected statues of the gods self that were illuminated at dawn noon and at sunset although the Konark sundial is obviously extremely precise in its ability to tell time the unique look of the piece adds to its function as well the disk is split by multiple spokes much like our everyday modern clocks but they separate the day into three hour periods smaller lines divide these into 90-minute periods and dots around the outside of the sundial divide these periods by 30 each separation of the sundial face lasts three minutes therefore the precise timekeeping ability exists because you can see the shadow of the upright on the right center or left of each to indicate if the time is at one two or three minute mark the Sun temple at Konark represents a multi-faceted approach to creating the most glorious and precise temple to celebrate the Sun God possible it's not simply a beautiful building with lovely artwork or statuary it also celebrates ability of the Sun to illuminate at certain times and humans ability to track its movement across the heavens the main sundial is inside which makes it impossible to use during the afternoon hours luckily there's another one on the west side of the wall that can be used in the afternoon and evening of course like all Sun dials they do not work at night some suggest that any number of the 24 different Sun dials found on the temple grounds double as moon dials that can track the motion of the lunar body that indicate time when the Sun is not shining Bhimbetka shelters one of the oldest sites of the collection top indian temples comes from the middle of the Stone Age or the Mesolithic era these rocky shelters are called the Bhimbetka and were only discovered in 1957 they are naturally occurring caverns that were augmented by early people and decorated with some of the oldest cave paintings in India they lie in the Vindi on mountains in india's madhya pradesh state the paintings themselves illustrate some of the everyday life of the people who lived in the early Copper Age the entire network of shelters exists along a 10 kilometer path and there are over 400 shelters and all the paintings also include many images of plants trees and animals that still live in the area that's now protected as they brought to Pawnee wildlife sanctuary when cave paintings are found questions always arise about why the people made these images on the walls did they want to leave something for posterity or simply decorate their homes or temporary shelters with attractive images do the pictures tell stories or give specific information about historical events that were important to these early people amazingly enough the Bhimbetka cave paintings did not come from a single group of early people instead it would seem that many different groups use these shelters for an extensive period of time in fact they seem to have been in use for nearly thirty thousand years in some ways it makes logical sense that any people who found such handy shelters with interesting pictures on the walls would use them readily why would any group ignore such a convenient and protected spot it's also possible that the continuation of cave artwork in the bin Beca shelters represented a type of cultural flow or assimilation from one group to the next they may have shared legends and even a type of spirituality these styles may change over the years but the focus on people animals and plants does not change many of them show scenes of dancing or hunting battles between different groups of people and depictions of their deities the diversity is astounding as time went by and the Stone Age ended images of farms chariots and more advanced civilized features appeared today tours visit the Bhimbetka caverns to enjoy the cave paintings and the impressive geological formations there are currently 15 that are available for tours including the massive auditorium cave if you visit you can look back through a catalogue of history and imagine that the people that lived and worked there for thousands and thousands of years what was so important about the been Beca rock shelters and why did people make their marks on the walls for all those who came after them today the site's been dubbed a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its importance in the global collection of cave art the ellora caves another cavern temple site in India dedicated to the unique blend of the diverse religious beliefs found in this country exists in the ellora caves in Maharashtra carved by hand out of a basalt cliff the complex consists of 34 different temples and monasteries dedicated to Brahmanism buddhism and jainism besides the spiritual importance of the location it also provides an exceptional example of how important artwork was to its practice and the cavern of the ten avatars visitors can now see impressive artwork that reflects a focus on Jainism and the DeJohn breh sect they're considered some of the best examples of rock-cut architecture that still exist in the nation of India they include a flat roof supported by its 16 pillars and a massive statue of Ravana lifting Mount Kailash II to demonstrate his strength and power the 10th cave at the Elora Site focuses on Buddhism and displays a large Buddha figure who relaxes and what's known as the teaching post people also call this cavern the carpenter's Hut in reference to Vishwakarma the God who is usually shown with various tools and is considered a patron of Industry and the creator of the universe the collection of different caverns and structures scattered about the ellora caves location are each more interesting than the last in the Kailasa temple which was built around 760 C II by Krishna the first you can see a high degree of grandeur in the depictions of a military victory over the playas the five Shrine Temple seems more dedicated to the might of its creator in any of the more peaceful foci of other places however the main deity honored with the temple was Shiva whose earthly palace was believed to be on that mountain to further illustrate the idea the temple itself requires a climb up to platforms to reach the top it was built by excavating the basalt Hills at first the construction crew dug 90 meter trenches straight into the hillside and connected them with an approximately 50 metre long trench at the back then they essentially carved the 32 metre tall temple out of the ground left in the middle the columns domed roof three-story Tower and entrance hall were all originally part of the natural mountainside the Chola temples in Thanjavur the chola people created a collection of temples that still exist today as a demonstration of their Empire's power and magnificence the temple itself served as both a religious center and a place of commerce and business for the surrounding area the artwork and statuary contained within give a glimpse of the prosperity and opulence that was enjoyed by the hundreds of priests musicians and devadasi who made this their permanent home the granite temple played an important role in the economy of the area in India one of the most important activities that occurred here included loaning money to villagers guilds of artisans of craftspeople and traders and ship owners the architectural design of the Chola temples was one scene ever since the years 500 to 600 CE II the builders used existing rocky hills or outcroppings to carve out the temples directly instead of transporting rocks or bricks from elsewhere of course there are plenty of other temples that use those construction techniques as well the whole collection of sites originally created by the chola people spread across many parts of this region in India you can see them at Kanchipuram the port city of Manali purim nirmaan Dori in the south and in the Kaveri region at the center they date back all the way to approximately 900 CE II although widespread and important for both spiritual purposes and the local economy none of the Chola temples were exceptionally large instead they focused on building serviceable temples or shrines on sacred sites described by wandering poets who focused on celebrating Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva and all their incarnations however when the raja raja temple in thunder i was built in a much larger size with the grander accoutrements it began a new building era that extended to other temples near darasuram and ganga kundan chola purim one of the largest temple stretched more than 240 metres long and 120 metres wide it's perfect proportions allowed for the building of pyramid gateways that offered a unique geometric symmetry along an east-west line researchers explain the southern deviation due to the exact date construction began after all these son is in a slightly different position at different times of the year this temple also includes a 60 metre tall tower that's one of the tallest represented at any chola structure it was built to honor Shiva's form as the lord of raha raja with a statue of his Linga inside the precise geometry of many of the temples is also seen in the construction of this tower it's precisely half the width of the pure metal structure contains an even passageway around the center sanctum and features the stepped pyramid design used frequently in the southern Tamils revita architectural style as with many other Chola temples the tower is topped by a camp stone that consecrate the entire building on the final day of its construction this one was placed in April of 1010 seee temples of Cascia rahu during the chandala dynasty in india many people focused on the tantric school of thought which pushed that the understanding of male and female balance and order the general belief stated that the male aspect was focused on form and potential and the female aspect encompassed energy that could make the potential come to life the sense of equality and importance between the sexes was a rather unusual and forward-thinking concept at that time in history this Hindu school of belief was nevertheless appreciated by people in the early medieval period around 1300 C II when the temple was first constructed the khajuraho temple was not only a symbol of the balance that exists between the male and female principles but also of sensuality in all its forms alongside the unique blend of male and female influences the khajuraho temple also demonstrates how Hinduism and Jainism intersected in the belief systems of people in this part an era of India's history the earliest records of its existence hail from 1335 C II at that time there were supposedly 85 different structures at the site unfortunately whether erosion Wars and other unavoidable problems have destroyed many of them and broken down others there are only 22 temples left at Colorado all of them hold impressive carvings that are exceptionally precise when depicting the human form the remaining collection of kaiser aho temples were first constructed around 950 to 1050 seee during the chandala dynasty and spread over seven miles of land they were used extensively for worship and other purposes through around 1100 CE II when the Delhi Sultanate took control of the 1200s most of the temples were destroyed neglected or purposely abused due to the differing beliefs of the people who took over the region also carajo is a relatively remote area of India which was not as active and well-traveled as it once was many of the temples not in use were simply left to the jungle one of the most memorable aspects of the conjurer aho temples is the fact that they have many erotic sculptures inside tourists who visit them these days enjoy seeking out certain scenes that are described on the internet and in guidebooks only 10% or so of the carvings that the temples are sensual in any way they're referred to as kama scenes which means they have something to do with longing and desire you may have heard the term before in the famous book the kama sutra kama is considered one of the primary human goals alongside artha moksha and dharma in the hindu religion one of the images on the walls of the kasha Rahu temples simply show everyday scenes of growing crops working with clay and enjoying leisure time with music and dance Mahabali pyram although many things contributed to the unique history of India one important event in the past was the war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas scenes from this battle were recorded in detail on the walls of the Mahabalipuram temple they were carved out of stone that was used to construct the main building besides the historical records the diversity of gods that were worshipped in the temple demonstrates the divisions that existed in the country at the time each god or goddess had its own separate location on the property all in all there were seven different pagodas that made up mahabalipuram these are described in detail by Marco Polo and his famous record of his travels to various locations in the world luckily people today have that record of these seven pagodas because most of them were lost throughout history today the MA Valli Purim temple complex only has one that still exists along the shore it's a two-story tall building with artful depictions of warriors from the affer mentioned panel and their horse-drawn chariot another artistic relief is named the descent of the ganges it tells the story of when lord shiva sent down the ganges river to earth to help the people the image in the temple is a collection of different deities standing around to watch the magnificent event although much of the original location has been lost it seems the Mahabalipuram still holds some secrets and questions that entice visitors to this day the stone walls seem megalithic and construction which may indicate that it was built by different people at a different time than was originally assumed although millions of tourists flocked to the site every year it's been established as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO it's the far history when all seven pagodas existed that arouses the most curiosity in fact it was often used as a landmark for sailors who journeyed to India in the 1700s and beyond the normal historical understanding about the mahabali purim temple complex suggests that it was first built somewhere between 600 and 700 c/e besides the shore temple some monoliths smaller shrines and caves and statuary still exists interestingly enough some of the monuments were never completed why they were abandoned is a question that many historians struggle with legends also tell of many sunken temples that were lost beneath the waves of the bay over the years some believed that the extra pagodas in the total of seven were actually structures under the water that created difficulty for traders and explorers attempts to solve the mystery have been going on extensively since the 1990s the Archaeological Survey of India has found additional shrines a statue of varaha and a ceremonial bath the site the elephant ik caves created in the mid 15th century the elephant ik caves combined the natural beauty of the rock from which they were carved and the sculptural quality of the designs and artwork found within these archaeological masterpieces tell a tale of the long-ago dynasties that controlled the region all those years ago the first cave is 39 meters tall and spans a large area so that many people could have gathered here for ceremonial purposes in the past the religious decorations inside of the caves all focus on the cult of Shiva the primary focal statue in the first cave is seven meters tall and showcases three different incarnations of Lord Shiva himself these include by rave or Agora who is the creator Mata Deva or top to Purusha the preserver and uma or vamadeva the destroyer other sculptures and three-dimensional carvings show various scenes from Shiva's life including his marriage to Parvati the elephanta caves are on the similarly named elephant island in the western part of the country it's been the site of mysticism and spiritual understanding for a very long time besides the intriguing statue in the meaning behind it the construction of these caves is outstanding on its own questions arise about how the workers could have cut out such a massive and tall cavern without modern equipment also how could they have moved the megalithic rocks and done such intricate carving with the old-fashioned tools they used at the time of its construction these were created during the medieval era which makes them even more impressive today this location has been honored by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site approximately seven kilometers away from Mumbai the elephanta caves are carved from solid basalt on an island there are no real records of whether they were used before around 400 C II when the badami Kingdom took control of the region from the Mauryan leaders the island itself passed hands many times from various Indian groups to the Portuguese man finally Great Britain during the colonial era over the entire history of this location it alternated between Brahmin and Buddhist traditions the island and its caves were originally called Gaara Puri or the city of priests the name Allah fonta was given to it by the Portuguese somewhere in the 1500s they got the idea from a statue of a large stone elephant with a baby elephant on his back although originally displayed in the nearby village it was moved to the gardens of a museum in Mumbai the Portuguese maintained control of the island even when most of their land was given to the British it was considered a strategic location for both protection and transportation at that time although most people focus on the first cave on the island there are seven in total the elephanta caves are connected to one another with only a few of them open to the public several have pillars helping to support the ceiling there are Buddhist stupas displayed in some of the smaller caverns carved doorways depict many unique designs unfortunately quite a few of them have been damaged over the centuries since this amazing place was created [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: DTTV - Archaeology Answers

Views: 503,677

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Id: NBG9uHHzxcc

Length: 34min 16sec (2056 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 02 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/TheGoldenSpectacle]

Why aren't more people talking about this? No comments... They must of had serious stone technology. Imo I think it was a use of chemical that could turn the stone into a play doh like layer. Hard to say how deep the layer could go but the pointing and detail is far too insane for anything brute. Chisels or tools would work perfect if it became a softer material. Something maybe uv curable.