Ancient Archaeology and World Heritage

The Elephanta Caves, also known as Gharapuri Caves, are a collection of cave temples primarily dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. These ancient rock-cut shrines, considered to have been constructed between the 5th and 7th centuries CE are Located on Elephanta Island in Mumbai Harbour, India. The main cave at the island (also called the Great Cave) consists of a square court surrounded by cells and several entrances. The main entrance faces north, while two side entrances face east and west. The temple is enclosed in the cave with only interior walls, without an exterior wall. The Linga shrine of the Great Cave temple is a free-standing square stone cella (the inner area of an ancient temple), with entrances on each of its sides. Each door is flanked by two Dvarapalas (gate guardians) , for a total of eight around the shrine.

In Yaśodharapura (modern day Angkor) which was once the capital of the Khmer Empire (from the late 9th century CE to the early 15th Century CE), lies Angkor Wat.  Once hidden amidst vast jungles and today bustling with tourists, it is the largest religious monument in the world. 

“Bagan” (classically referred to as "Arimaddanapura" ) contains l argest concentration of Buddhist pagodas and stupas in the world.  It is estimated that 4,446 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed between the 11th and the 13th centuries CE. Over 3,500 of these remain to date.

Primarily named after the characters of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, the temple compounds located in the Dieng Plateau in Central Java has been dated as far back of the 7 th to 8 th Century CE. Even though most tourists venturing on cultural escapes in Indonesia frequently visits the world heritage sites of Borobudur and Prambanan Temple complexes, Dieng Plateau is frequently overlooked due to being unaware of its’ existence as much as difficulty of access. After all, the trip to the temple compound which is located nearly 2,100 m above sea level could take over 3 hours from Yogyakarta even with private transportation.

T he Chenla Kingdom was once part of the Kingdom of Funan, a network of states which existed in Mainland South East Asia centered around the Mekong Delta from the 1 st to the 6 th century CE. By the end of the 6 th Century CE, Chenla is believed to have become a sovereign state, with “Bhavavarman I” becoming its’ first independent ruler (estimated to have reigned from 550 CE to 590 CE).