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Where in the world

India

Elephanta Caves

Chalukya · India

Field notes

civilizations: Chalukya
types: Temple
built: 450 CE — 750 CE
occupied: 450 CE — 1,000 CE
country: India

The site

A group of temples cut into the basalt of an island in Mumbai harbour, carved between the 5th and 8th centuries and dedicated chiefly to Shiva. Entered through pillared halls hewn from the living rock, they culminate in the Trimurti, a colossal three-faced bust — creator, preserver and destroyer — that ranks among the masterpieces of Indian sculpture. The Portuguese, who found a stone elephant at the landing, gave the island its European name and are blamed for much of the damage to the reliefs.

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