Rock-cut architecture

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Rock cut architecture
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Great Temple of Abu Simbel
(ca. 1280 BCE), one of the earliest known examples of rock-cut architecture.

Rock-cut architecture is the creation of structures, buildings, and sculptures by excavating solid

temples (like those in India), tombs, and cave dwellings (like those in Cappadocia
).

A related term,

Ellora Kailasanathar Temple, but monolithic structures may also be cast of artificial material, such as concrete. The largest monolithic statue in the world, the Gommateshwara statue of Bahubali at Shravanabelagola in the Indian state of Karnataka, was carved in 983 CE from a single block of granite.[2][3]

Kailasa temple, part of the Ellora Caves

Some rock-cut architecture is excavated entirely in chambers under the surface of relatively level rock. This is especially common in

rock-cut tombs. Excavations instead made into the side of a cliff or steep slope can feature an impressive facade, as in Lycian tombs, Petra, and the Ajanta Caves. The most laborious and imposing rock-cut architecture is the excavation of tall free-standing monolithic structures entirely below the surface level of the surrounding rock, in a large excavated hole around the structure. Ellora in India and the Zagwe-built Lalibela in Ethiopia provide some of the most famous examples of such structures. Many parts of the world feature rock reliefs, relief
sculptures carved into rock faces, often outside caves.

The 57-foot (17 m) tall monolithic Gommateshwara statue, built in 981 CE

History

Midas Monument, a Phrygian rock-cut tomb dedicated to Midas
(700 BCE).

Ancient monuments of rock-cut architecture are widespread in several regions of world. A small number of Neolithic tombs in Europe, such as the c. 3,000 B.C. Dwarfie Stane on the Orkney island of Hoy, were cut directly from the rock, rather than constructed from stone blocks.

Alteration of naturally formed caverns, although distinct from completely carved structures in the strict sense, date back to the neolithic period on several Mediterranean islands e.g.

Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni), Sardinia
(Anghelu Ruju, built between 3,000 and 1,500 BCE) and others.

Lycian tombs cut into the cliffs along the river in Dalyan, Turkey (4th century BCE).
Lycian rock-cut tomb with ogival barrel-vaulted roof, 4th century BCE.

During the

New kingdom.[4]
Large-scale rock-cut structures were built in
19th Dynasty (ca. 1280 BCE), and consists of a monumentally scaled facade carved out of the cliff and a set of interior chambers that form its sanctuary.[5]

In the 8th century, the

Midas monument (700 BCE), dedicated to the famous Phrygian king Midas.[6][7]

In the 5th century BCE, the

Etruscans of central Italy also left an important legacy of rock-cut architecture, mostly tombs, as those near the cities of Tarquinia and Vulci
.

Tomb of Absalom (Kidron Valley), with rock-cut lower half

The creation of rock-cut tombs in ancient Israel began in the 8th-century BCE and continued through the Byzantine period. The Tomb of Absalom was constructed in the 1st century CE in the Kidron Valley of Jerusalem.

Lomas Rishi, one of the first rock-cut caves in India
, 250 BCE.

Rock-cut architecture occupies a particularly important place in the history of Indian Architecture. The earliest instances of

Pataleshwar
.

Al Khazneh
or the Treasury at Petra

Artisans in the

Nabataean city of Petra, in modern Jordan, extended the Western Asian tradition, carving their temples and tombs into the yellowish-orange rock that defines the canyons and gullies of the region. These structures, dating from 1st century BCE to about 2nd century CE, are particularly important in the history of architecture given their experimental forms.[11]
Here too, because the structures served as tombs, the interiors were rather perfunctory. In Petra one even finds a theater where the seats are cut out of the rock.

Mount Longmen as seen from Manshui Bridge to the southeast.

The technological skills associated with making these complex structures moved into China along the trade routes. The Longmen Grottoes, the Mogao Caves, and the Yungang Grottoes consist of hundreds of caves many with statues of Buddha in them. Most were built between 460 and 525 CE. There are extensive rock-cut buildings, including houses and churches in Cappadocia, Turkey.[12] They were built over a span of hundreds of years prior to the 5th century CE. Emphasis here was more on the interiors than the exteriors.

The Geghard monastery, 13th century.

Another extensive site of rock-cut architecture is in Lalibela, a town in northern Ethiopia. The area contains numerous Orthodox churches in three dimensions, as at Ellora, that were carved out of the rock. These structures, which date from the 12th and 13th centuries CE and which are the last significant examples of this architectural form, ranks as among the most magnificent examples of rock-cut architecture in the world, with both interior and exterior brought to fruition.[citation needed]

Art

Ancient rock cut tombs, temples and monasteries often have been adorned with frescoes and reliefs. The high resistance of natural cliff, skilled use of plaster and constant microclimate often have helped to preserve this art in better condition than in conventional buildings. Such exceptional examples are the ancient and early medieval frescoes in such locations as

Churches of Göreme, Turkey
and numerous other monuments in Asia, Europe and Africa.

Selime Cathedral, A rock-cut temple in Cappadocia (9th century CE)
One of the 13 rock-hewn churches at Lalibela, Ethiopia, entirely cut out of the rock surface (c. 1000 CE)

Chronology

See also

References

  1. ^ Francis Ching, Mark Jarzombek, Vikramaditya Prakash, A Global History of Architecture (Wiley, 2006)
  2. ^ Statue of Gomateswara
  3. ^ World's biggest monolithic Statue
  4. ISBN 978-0-313-32501-4
    .
  5. ^ Aidan Dodson. Egyptian Rock-Cut Tombs. Shire Publications 1999.
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-1118007396
    .
  7. ^
    ISBN 9780520919686
    .
  8. ^ Lycian tombs
  9. ^ S. Nagaraju Buddhist Architecture of Western India, c. 250 BC – AD 300 (Agam Kala Prakashan, 1981)
  10. ^ Vidya Dehejia, Early Buddhist Rock Temples; a Chronology. (Cornell University Press, 1972)
  11. ^ Rababeh, Shaher M. Rababeh, "How Petra was Built: an Analysis of the Construction Techniques of the Nabataean Freestanding Buildings and Rock-cut Monuments in Petra, Jordan" (Oxford, England: Archaeopress), 2005.
  12. ^ Spiro Kostof, Caves of God: the Monastic Environment of Byzantine Cappadocia (MIT Press, 1972). Vidya Dehejia, (Cornell University Press, 1972)
  • Burgess, James and Fergusson J. Cave Temples of India. (London: W.H. Allen & Co., 1880. Delhi: Munshiram Manohar Lal Publishers Pvt Ltd., Delhi, 2005).[ISBN missing]
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