History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c29.s2.t2.15

v1.c29.s2.t2.15

Some later examples of rock-cut architecture imitated free standing buildings. At Mamallapuram in Southern India, granite boulders were cut into monolithic copies of temples during 7th century A.D. The most impressive monolithic monument is the Kailas temple at Ellora, also datable to this period. Here, a great ditch was excavated into a cliff exposing a solid mass of rock, this was then hewn into a free standing monolithic temple, complete in all of its architectural details; from the mouldings of the basement to the dome like roof of the tower.