The site

Mahabalipuram is a town on the Tamil Nadu coast of southeastern India, once one of the two major port cities of the Pallava kingdom and named after the Pallava king Narasimhavarman I. Flourishing in the 7th and 8th centuries, it is famous for royal monuments carved from the living rock, including chariot-shaped rathas, cave sanctuaries, the vast open-air relief known as the Descent of the Ganges, and the Shore Temple to Shiva. These sculptures have made Mahabalipuram one of India's most celebrated ancient sites.

Field notes

civilizations

Pallava

types

Village

occupied

630 CE — 900 CE

country

India

elevation

12 m above sea level