Friday, August 6, 2010

Seepage damages paintings in Ellora caves


Water damage to wall paintings at Ellora temple caves complex (travelpod.com)

(SIFY/ANI) The paintings at Ellora in Aurangabad, India are losing their gleam as rainwater seeps into the cave temples. Partly due to seepage and falling rocks, damage to sculptures is also being caused by lights installed inside the caves. Moisture is affecting the paintings, with the immediate effect that they are turning black.

There are 34 famous temples carved out of stone. The cave temples of Ellora are divided into three groups, belonging to three periods: Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain. "At Ellora you can see that Buddhism, Brahmanism, Hinduism, and Jainism, along with this the Sufi activities at Khuldabad, they go together. Everybody is bent upon passing the message of peace and love," said Morwanchikar.

The Ellora cave temples are a precious world heritage site (igougo.com).

The government has planned to construct drains in all the caves of Ellora to avoid seepage and further destruction of the sculptures, particularly during the monsoons. The ancient Ellora caves are a World Heritage Site and were constructed between the fifth and tenth centuries AD. Full story

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