Lomas Rishi, the Barabar cave with the most elaborate timber-style facade and a marching frieze of elephants, preserves an unfinished construction sequence: rough tool marks on the vault, partly polished walls and an unfinished floor. A ceiling crack suggests a rockslide interrupted work. Historian John C. Huntington documented tool marks progressing from coarse to fine. Unlike the other six Barabar–Nagarjuni caves, Lomas Rishi has no ancient inscription. 🏗️
Lomas Rishi preserves evidence of unfinished Mauryan construction
IndiaArchitecture
Key facts
- Lomas Rishi has an elaborate timber-style facade adorned with a frieze of marching elephants.
- Rough extraction marks on the vault, partly polished walls and an unfinished floor preserve successive stages of excavation and finishing.
- A crack in the ceiling has been interpreted as evidence that a rockslide interrupted construction.
- Historian John C. Huntington described tool marks progressing from coarse bulk removal to finer detailing near polished areas.
- Lomas Rishi has no ancient inscription. It is the only one of the seven Barabar and Nagarjuni caves without one; the other three Barabar caves were inscribed by Ashoka, while the Nagarjuni caves were inscribed by his grandson Dasharatha.
Sources
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irna.fr
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lah.ru
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geolines.ru
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(PDF) The Lomas Rishi Cave: Another look - Academia.eduacademia.edu
Situation of the Lomas the rock face. Inside, a single rectangular chamber runs parallel to the face of the out- cropping. Lomas Rsi cave, elephant procession.
Lomas Rishi Cave - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
The hut-style facade at the entrance to the cave is the earliest survival of the ogee shaped "chaitya arch" or chandrashala that was to be an important feature
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