Category History

Great Buddha Dordenma is a gigantic Shakyamuni Buddha statue in the mountains of Bhutan celebrating the 60th anniversary of fourth king Jigme Singye Wangchuck. The statue houses over one hundred thousand smaller Buddha statues, each of which, like the Great Buddha Dordenma itself, are made of bronze and gilded in gold. The Great Buddha Dordenma is sited amidst the ruins of Kuensel Phodrang, the palace of Sherab Wangchuk, the thirteenth Druk Desi, overlooking the southern approach to Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan. Construction began in 2006 and was planned to finish in October 2010, however construction did not conclude until 25 September 2015. The completed work is one of the largest Buddha rupas in the world, at 169 feet (52 m) and contains 100,000 8-inch-tall and 25,000 12-inch-tall gilded bronze Buddhas

Like the large Buddha, these thousands of miniature Buddhas are also gilded and made of bronze, a major reason that the statue cost almost $100 million to build when it was constructed in 2015 to honor the 60th birthday of Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the fourth king of Bhutan.

The statue also fulfils two prophecies. The first, foreseen by yogi Sonam Sangpo, is that a Buddhist statue would be built in the region to “bestow blessings, peace, and happiness to the whole world.” In addition, the statue is said to have been mentioned by Guru Padmasambhava, widely referred to as the “second Buddha,” in the eighth century. This statue kills two birds with one stone by fulfilling both prophecies in glimmering fashion.

 

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The 2001 destruction of the two giant Buddhas in Bamiyan is, by far, the most spectacular attack against the historical and cultural heritage of Afghanistan committed during the country’s recent period of turmoil.

The statues represented a later evolution of the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The statues consisted of the male Salsal (“light shines through the universe”) and the (smaller) female Shamama (“Queen Mother”), as they were called by the locals. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modeled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. This coating, practically all of which wore away long ago, was painted to enhance the expressions of the faces, hands, and folds of the robes; the larger one was painted carmine red and the smaller one was painted multiple colors. The lower parts of the statues’ arms were constructed from the same mud-straw mix supported on wooden armatures. It is believed that the upper parts of their faces were made from great wooden masks or casts. The rows of holes that can be seen in photographs held wooden pegs that stabilized the outer stucco.

The Buddhas are surrounded by numerous caves and surfaces decorated with paintings. It is thought that the period of florescence was from the 6th to 8th century CE, until the onset of Islamic invasions. These works of art are considered as an artistic synthesis of Buddhist art and Gupta art from India, with influences from the Sasanian Empire and the Byzantine Empire, as well as the country of Tokharistan.

The statues were blown up and destroyed in March 2001 by the Taliban, on orders from leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, after the Taliban government declared that they were idols. International and local opinion strongly condemned the destruction of the Buddhas.

 

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The Lion Man is a masterpiece. Sculpted with great originality, virtuosity and technical skill from mammoth ivory, this 40,000-year-old image is 31 centimetres tall. It has the head of a cave lion with a partly human body. He stands upright, perhaps on tiptoes, legs apart and arms to the sides of a slender, cat-like body with strong shoulders like the hips and thighs of a lion. His gaze, like his stance, is powerful and directed at the viewer. The details of his face show he is attentive, he is watching and he is listening. He is powerful, mysterious and from a world beyond ordinary nature. He is the oldest known representation of a being that does not exist in physical form but symbolises ideas about the supernatural.

Stadel Cave, where the Lion Man was found, is different. It faces north and does not get the sun. It is cold and the density of debris accumulated by human activities is much less than at other sites. This was not a good place to live. Lion Man was found in a dark inner chamber, carefully put away in the darkness with only a few perforated arctic fox teeth and a cache of reindeer antlers nearby. These characteristics suggest that Stadel Cave was only used occasionally as a place where people would come together around a fire to share a particular understanding of the world articulated through beliefs, symbolised in sculpture and acted out in rituals.

 

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Excavations at Keezhadi an archaeological site in Sivaganga district near Madurai. Tamil Nadu, have brought to light significant details about the Sangam era. The sixth phase of the excavation came to an end late September. However, only one report that of the fourth phase) has been published so far. The first three phases were conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the latest three were under the ambit of the The Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department (TNAD). While avaiting the reports of the fifth and sixth phases, political parties in Tamil Nadu have urged the ASI to publish the findings of the first three phases of excavation without delay Meanwhile, scientists have discovered the oldest known human-made nanomaterials in the “unique black coatings” of potsherds – dated to 600 BC – unearthed from Keezhadi. (Nanomaterials are materials with at least one dimension measuring 100 nm or less. A nanometre (nm) is one millionth of a millimetre. Nanomaterials can occur naturally, created as the byproducts of combustion reactions, or be produced purposefully through engineering. Nanomaterials may be added to materials such as cement or cloth to make them stronger and yet lighter.)

Let’s take a look at how Keezhadi has helped us understand the cultural history of the Sangam era.

How were the excavations carried out?

In 2013-2014, the ASI began exploration in Tamil Nadu, along the banks of the river Vaigai. More than 290 sites were identified in Theni, Dindigul, Madurai, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram districts for excavation. Keezhadi, a village 12 km southeast of Madurai in Sivaganga district, was one of them. In Keezhadi, the first phase of excavation began in 2015. The site began yielding rich artefacts such as potsherds with Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions, deep terracotta ring wells, big storage pots, pots with spouts, decorated pots, and beads made of semiprecious stones. Further excavations at the Pallichanthai Thidal in Keezhadi pointed to an ancient civilisation that thrived on the banks of the Vaigai.

What are some of the major findings from the site?

• The Sangam era could be 300 years older than thought. Cultural deposits unearthed date back to a period between the 6th Century BCE and the 1st Century CE.

• The Keezhadi site provides overwhelming evidence of the presence of an urban settlement. The artefacts suggest that urbanisation took place on the Vaigai plains in Tamil Nadu around the 6th century BCE, making it contemporary to the Gangetic plain civilisation The discovery of brick structures with classical features such as platforms, ring wells, rectangular tanks, square tanks with extended structures, and channels vouches for the presence of an urban culture there.

• Sangam people may have participated in recreational activities – as many dice made of ivory have been unearthed.

• The Keezhadi findings push back the date of the Tamil-Brahmi script to another century, i.e.. 6th century BCE. • Many Tamil-Brahmi inscribed potsherds have been recovered, suggesting that the residents of the Sangam era attained literacy or learned the art of writing as early as the 6th century BCE.

• There are also other markings alongside the Tamil-Brahmi symbols which apparently suggest a connection with the Indus Valley civilisation. Artefacts with ‘graffiti’ or markings establish a possible link between the scripts of the Indus Valley Civilisation and Tamil Brahmi which is the precursor to modem Tamil.

• Skeletal fragments of animals suggest that animals were used predominantly for agricultural purposes.

• Pottery specimens confirm that water containers and cooking vessels were shaped out of locally available materials.

What is the Sangam era?

The Sangam period refers to a period in the history of ancient Tamil Nadu. Kerala the souther parts of Kanataka and Andhra Pradesh, and northern Sri Lanka. The TNAD has stated that the cultural deposits unearthed indicate that the era could be safely dated to a period between the 6th century BCE and the 1st century CE. It is known for scholarly congregations in and around the city of Madurai. The period is considered the golden age of Tamil literature and culture as many of its epics were composed during this time.

Why are the Sangam era people believed to have been well-versed in city planning?

The fourth phase report highlighted the supposedly high standard of living in the Sangam era. It talked about the excavation having unearthed well-laid floors made of fine clay along with roof tiles. The finger groove impressions on roof indicate they may have been used to drain water. Other excavations include terracotta pipes that could have been used for carrying protected water. Another brick structure, which looked like a tank/trough, haul an inlet and an outlet A covered drain was found below this. A small structure with a stone slab on top, perhaps meant for washing dothes, was also one of the artefacts Excavated.

Different types of water channels brick construction evidence of trade relations with other domestic and foreign places sign and letter usages revealed that the civilisation along the Vaigai river was advanced.

What is the possible connection between the Indus script and the Tamil-Brahmi script?

The Indus Valley Civilisation existed between 5000 BCE and 1500 BCE in the northwestern part of India. When it declined, its people started moving towards east and south. The script that was used by the people of this civilisation has been termed the Indus script.

Now, the ‘graffiti marks on the artefacts obtained from the Keezhadi excavation site point to a link between the scripts of the Indus Valley Civilisation and Tamil Brahmi which is the precursor to modem Tamil. According to the report: One kind of script that survived in the time period between the disappearance of the Indus script and the emergence of the Brahmi script has been referred to as graffti by the scholars. These marks they believe have evolved or transformed from the Indus script and served as the precursor to the Brahmi script.

Therefore, these graffiti cannot be dismissed as mere scratches. Besides, like the Indus script this also could not be deciphered till date. Among the scripts of India, the Indus script is considered to be the earliest. After the decline of the script and before the emergence of the Brahmi script there seemed to be a gap. Researchers note that this graffti could fill that gap.

What do we know about the discovery of nanomaterials?

Scientists have discovered the oldest known human made nanomaterials in the unique black coatings of potsherds from Keezhadi. Research revealed that these coatings are made of carbon nanotubes (CNTS) which have enabled the layer to last more than 2,600 years, raising questions on the tools used during those periods to achieve high temperatures for making earthenwares.

Scientists say that the people of this time may not have intentionally added CNTS. instead, during the processing at high temperatures these would have just formed accidentally. They may have added or coated something similar to plant-sap to the inside of the pots, and subject it to the nearly 1100-1400 degree Celsius high-temperature fire treatment as seen in kilns. This fire treatment may have led to the formation of CNTS during high-temperature processing, which has likely strengthened the pot and made the coating durable.

 

Picture Credit : Google