Ajanta Caves
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The Buddhist Caves in Ajanta are approximately 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments dating from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 CE in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state in India.[1][note 1] The caves include paintings and rock-cut sculptures described as among the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian art, particularly expressive paintings that present emotions through gesture, pose and form.[3][4][5]
The caves were built in two phases, the first starting around the 2nd century BCE and the second occurring from 400 to 650 CE, according to older accounts, or in a brief period of 460–480 CE according to later scholarship.[6]
The site is a protected monument in the care of the Archaeological Survey of India,[7] and since 1983, the Ajanta Caves have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Ajanta Caves are mentioned in the memoirs of several medieval-era Chinese Buddhist travellers.[8] They were covered by jungle until accidentally "discovered" and brought to Western attention in 1819 by a colonial British officer Captain John Smith on a tiger-hunting party.[9]
Further reading
Ajanta Caves, Wikipedia
Notes
- ↑ The precise number of caves varies according to whether or not some barely-started excavations, such as cave 15A, are counted. The Archaeological Survey of India say "In all, total 30 excavations were hewn out of rock which also include an unfinished one",[2] UNESCO and Spink "about 30". The controversies over the end date of excavation are covered below.
References
- ↑ Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam, ed. India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 173.
- ↑ "Ajanta Caves". Archaeological Survey of India. 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ↑ Ring, Trudy; Watson, Noelle; Schellinger, Paul (2012). Asia and Oceania. Routledge. pp. 17, 14–19. ISBN 978-1-136-63979-1.
- ↑ Honour, Hugh; Fleming, John (2005). A World History of Art. Laurence King. pp. 228–230. ISBN 978-1-85669-451-3.
- ↑ Michell 2009, p. 336.
- ↑ Ajanta Caves: Advisory Body Evaluation, UNESCO International Council on Monuments and Sites. 1982. Retrieved 27 October 2006., p. 2.
- ↑ "Ajanta Caves". Retrieved 19 May 2012.
- ↑ Cohen 2006a, pp. 32, 82.
- ↑ Spink 2007, pp. 3, 139.
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