Rock Cut Architecture

Connected Sites: 29

Structures carved in situ into 'living rock' which are not primarily based on natural caves even though in India and China these are often referred to as being 'caves'.

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Connected Sites

Lalibela
Lalibela
Ethiopia
Inscribed: 1978
4.12
92
6
"The Eleven Rock-Hewn Churches Of Lalibela Are Monolithic Churches ...The Rock-Hewn Churches At Lalibela Are Made Through A Subtractive Processes In Which Space Is Created By Removing Material. Out Of The 11 Churches, 4 Are Free-Standing (Monolithic) And 7 Share A Wall With The Mountain Out Of Which They Are Carved." (Wiki)
Ellora Caves
Inscribed: 1983
4.06
109
11
"One Of The Largest Rock-Cut Hindu Temple Cave Complexes In The World" (Wiki)
Matera
Matera
Italy
Inscribed: 1993
3.86
263
7
"Renowned For Its Rock-Cut Urban Core, Whose Twin Cliffside Zones Are Known Collectively As The Sassi .. The Sassi Are Houses Dug Into The Calcarenitic Rock Itself" (Wiki)
Longmen Grottoes
Inscribed: 2000
3.88
137
7
"The Images, Many Once Painted, Were Carved As Outside Rock Reliefs And Inside Artificial Caves Excavated From The Limestone Cliffs" (Wiki)
Yungang Grottoes
Inscribed: 2001
3.93
125
3
"The Grottoes Were Excavated In The South Face Of A Sandstone Cliff" (Wiki)
Ajanta Caves
Inscribed: 1983
3.81
108
7
The Caves Are Carved Out Of Flood Basalt And Granite Rock Of A Cliff (Wiki)
Elephanta Caves
Inscribed: 1987
3.05
145
7
"The Caves Are The Most Magnificent Achievement In The History Of Rock-Architecture In Western India." (Ouv)
Nubian Monuments
Inscribed: 1979
4.22
272
12
Abu Simbel
Petra
Petra
Jordan
Inscribed: 1985
4.61
386
21
Treasury And Monastery Are Two Of The Structures That Were Carved Into The Rock Face
Etruscan Necropolises
Inscribed: 2004
3.47
204
9
Several Tombs
Hegra
Hegra
Saudi Arabia
Inscribed: 2008
3.89
62
9
Rock-Cut Necropoles
Saint-Emilion
Inscribed: 1999
3.01
235
8
Monolithic Church, Carved From A Limestone Cliff
Syracuse
Inscribed: 2005
3.53
308
8
Pantalica
Qadisha Valley
Inscribed: 1998
3.31
81
4
Qannubin Monastery And Others
Mahabalipuram
Inscribed: 1984
3.77
102
4
Mogao Caves
Inscribed: 1987
4.08
74
5
"The Caves Are Examples Of Rock-Cut Architecture, But Unlike Longmen Grottoes And Yungang Grottoes, The Local Rock Is A Rather Soft Gravel Conglomerate That Is Not Suitable For Either Sculpture Or Elaborate Architectural Details" (Wiki)
Gyeongju
Gyeongju
Republic of Korea
Inscribed: 2000
3.29
177
14
Mount Namsan "The Rock-Cut Reliefs And Engravings And The Stone Images Are Fine Examples Of Shilla Kingdom Buddhist Art From The 7th To The 14th Century. They Are Artistic Masterpieces Which Trace The Evolution Of This Especially Refined School Of Buddhist Art Throughout Its Most Prolific And Innovatory Period, In Particular From The 7th To The 10th Century. They Depict For The Most Part Buddha, And Also The Saints And Bodhisattvas Associated With Him. Skilful Use Is Made Of The Landscape In Siting Many Of The Sculptural Groups. The Most Impressive Is Probably The Buddha Rock, A Massive Natural Formation In The Tapkol Valley. It Is Located Close To A Three Storey Pagoda, And Its Three Walls Are Decorated With Vivid Depictions In Bas-Relief Of Buddha In Different Incarnations, Surrounded By His Acolytes And Disciples." - Advisory Body Evaluation (2000)
Oaxaca and Monte Alban
Inscribed: 1987
3.70
175
7
Monte Alban (Originally Carved Out Of The Mountain)
Monastery of Geghard
Inscribed: 2000
3.42
183
4
"Partially Carved Out Of The Adjacent Mountain" (Wiki)
Bali Subak system
Inscribed: 2012
3.15
278
6
Gunung Kawi Temple Rock Cut Monuments And Monasteries (Ab Ev)
Pergamon
Pergamon
Turkiye
Inscribed: 2014
3.56
171
6
The Kybele Sanctuary At Kapikaya Is A Rural Rock-Cut Sanctuary (Ab Ev)
Gebel Barkal
Inscribed: 2003
3.13
34
4
"Rock-Cut Burials And Temples" (Ab Ev)
Ani
Ani
Turkiye
Inscribed: 2016
3.48
59
6
Great Number Of Rockcarved Structures Including Chapels, Burial Chambers, Warehouses And Pigeon Houses (Ab Ev)
Dholavira: A Harappan City
Inscribed: 2021
2.85
13
2
Of A Series Of Five Buried Water Reservoirs, The "Third One Which Is Centrally Located Is Primarily A Rock-Cut Architecture Of Excellence, Exquisite Beauty And Superb Skill." (Nomination Text, P. 121)
Necropolis of Bet She'arim
Inscribed: 2015
2.86
78
4
Interior Decoration Of Rock Cut Architecture Man-Made Catacombs, With Interior Carvings: "In One Cave, Known As The Cave Of The Coffins, "The Mother Of All Menorahs" Was Discovered.""
See Www.Jns.Org
Phu Phrabat
Phu Phrabat
Thailand
Inscribed: 2024
2.71
33
5
"Wat Look Koei (The Son-In-Law's Temple) Is A Rock Shelter Modified To Create A Monastery. (...) The Back Wall And The Lower Portions Of The Two Side Walls Were Carved From The Rock Pillar That Supports The Top Rock." - "Tam Phra (The Monk's Cave) Was A Large Rock Shelter, But The Top Rock Slab Collapsed And Broke Into Several Pieces Sometime In The Past. Its Bottom Part Was Carved Into A Large Room, With Many Buddhist Statues Sculpted Out Of The Rock Pillar." (Ab Ev)
Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo
Inscribed: 1979
2.82
130
8
"Many Churches, Chapels, Monasteries And Cells Were Cut Into The Natural Rock Along The Rusenski Lom River, During The 13-14th Centuries." (Ouv) – "The Rock-Hewn Churches Of Ivanovo (...) Are A Group Of Monolithic Churches, Chapels And Monasteries Hewn Out Of Solid Rock" (Wikipedia)
Val d'Orcia
Inscribed: 2004
3.23
238
11
The Cave Of San Filippo Benizi Is A Small Oratory Located In Bagni San Filippo In Castiglione D'Orcia, Carved Out Of A Large Block Of Travertine In The Shape Of A Vault Closed At The Ends By Two Walls And Divided In Two By A Partition Wall. (Nomination File, P. 74-75)
See It.Wikipedia.Org
Talayotic Menorca
Inscribed: 2023
2.93
50
4
"(...) Right In The Middle Of The Talayotic Period, (...) A New Kind Of Hypogea Emerged, Dug Into The Top Of Coastal Cliffs And The High Canyon Walls, Forming Large Burial Grounds. These Are Known As The Calascoves Type I Hypogea. (...) At The End Of The 9th Century Bc, We Have Documented A New Kind Of Hypogeum Excavated Into The Rock - Calascoves Hypogeum Xxi. It Is Characterised By The Fact That It Has Two Larger, More Spacious Globular Or Kidney-Shaped Chambers, Allowing People To Move Around Comfortably Inside. They Sometimes Have Pilasters Built Against The Walls, And In The Case Of Hypogeum Xxi, Columns With Central Niches." (Nomination File, P. 119-120)