TARGET 090708

The Ajanta Caves

On April 28, 1819 John Smith, a British officer in the Madras army was on a tiger hunt when he accidentally discovered an entrance to a cave deep within the tangled undergrowth.
The location

Exploring that cave, long since a home to nothing more than birds and bats and a lair for other, larger, animals, Captain Smith wrote his name in pencil on one of the walls. Still faintly visible, it records his name and the date he was there.

The Caves

When he entered the cave, he found a wonderous temple with carvings, statues, srt and archetecture which was stunning in its scope and grandeur.

Inside 1

Inside 2

Inside 3
Shortly after this discovery the Ajanta Caves became well known and renowned due to their exotic setting, impressive architecture, artworks and mysterious, long forgotten history.
The Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra, India are 28 - 30 rock-cut cave monuments created during the first century BCE and 5th century AD, containing paintings and sculptures considered to be masterpieces of both Buddhist religious art and universal pictorial art.

The caves are located just outside the village of Ajanta in the Aurangabad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra (N. lat. 20 deg. 30' by E. long. 75 deg. 40'). Since 1983. They have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.

The caves are traditionally numbered starting from the one closest to the village.


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If you gained information in your session which was not covered in the feedback, please take a look at:
Wikipedia
Sacred Destinations
Ajanta pictures

Many thanks to Ray McClure for suggesting this target, as well as doing the programming for the page.