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Frances
12th December 2015, 19:35
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/29F8BB4A-114E-46C3-8D81-1F7E40A5E2BC.png_zpsnlhldgke.jpeg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/29F8BB4A-114E-46C3-8D81-1F7E40A5E2BC.png_zpsnlhldgke.jpeg.html)

Agrasen Ki Baoli, Delhi.

Source:- http://www.victorialautman.com/india.html

India's Forgotten Stepwells.

By Victoria S. Lautman.

It’s hard to imagine an entire category of architecture slipping off history’s grid, and yet that seems to be the case with India’s incomparable stepwells. Never heard of ‘em? Don’t fret, you’re not alone: millions of tourists – and any number of locals - lured to the subcontinent’s palaces, forts, tombs, and temples are oblivious to these centuries-old water-structures that can even be found hiding-in-plain-sight close to thronged destinations like Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi or Agra’s Taj Mahal.

But now, India’s burgeoning water crisis might lead to redemption for at least some of these subterranean edifices, which are being re-evaluated for their ability to collect and store water. With any luck, tourist itineraries will also start incorporating what are otherwise an “endangered species” of the architecture world.
Frances.


More images to follow....

Frances
12th December 2015, 19:47
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/088D6540-85BA-4628-9F55-40E1E68F1F71_zpszoig5d7t.jpg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/088D6540-85BA-4628-9F55-40E1E68F1F71_zpszoig5d7t.jpg.html)

Mertani Baoli, Jhunjhunu.

Source:- http://www.victorialautman.com/india.html

By Victoria S. lautman.

Rudimentary stepwells first appeared in India between the 2nd and 4th centuries A.D., born of necessity in a capricious climate zone bone-dry for much of the year followed by torrential monsoon rains for many weeks. It was essential to guarantee a year-round water-supply for drinking, bathing, irrigation and washing, particularly in the arid states of Gujarat (where they’re called vavs) and Rajasthan (where they’re baoli, baori, or bawdi) where the water table could be inconveniently buried ten-stories or more underground. Over the centuries, stepwell construction evolved so that by the 11th century they were astoundingly complex feats of engineering, architecture, and art.
Frances.


More images to follow....

Frances
12th December 2015, 19:56
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Rani Ki Vav, Patan.

Source:- http://www.victorialautman.com/india.html

By Victoria S. lautman.

Construction of stepwells involved not just the sinking of a typical deep cylinder from which water could be hauled, but the careful placement of an adjacent, stone-lined “trench” that, once a long staircase and side ledges were embedded, allowed access to the ever-fluctuating water level which flowed through an opening in the well cylinder. In dry seasons, every step – which could number over a hundred - had to be negotiated to reach the bottom story. But during rainy seasons, a parallel function kicked in and the trench transformed into a large cistern, filling to capacity and submerging the steps sometimes to the surface. This ingenious system for water preservation continued for a millennium.
Frances.


More images to follow....

Frances
12th December 2015, 20:07
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/3D32C552-67E5-479F-A163-C8EE07D499DB_zpsdh4wksly.jpg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/3D32C552-67E5-479F-A163-C8EE07D499DB_zpsdh4wksly.jpg.html)

Madha Vav, Vadhaven.

Source:- http://www.victorialautman.com/india.html

By Victoria S. Lautman.

In many wells – particularly those in Gujarat – covered “pavilions” punctuated each successive level, accessed by narrow ledges as the water level rose, and providing vital shade while also buttressing walls against the intense pressure. For this same reason, most stepwells gradually narrow from the surface to the lowest tier underground, where the temperature is refreshingly cool. By building down into the earth rather than the expected “up”, a sort of reverse architecture was created and, since many stepwells have little presence above the surface other than a low masonry wall, a sudden encounter with one of these vertiginous, man-made chasms generates both a sense of utter surprise and total dislocation. Once inside, the telescoping views, towering pavilions, and the powerful play of light and shadow are equally disorienting, while also making them devilishly difficult to photograph.
Frances.


More images to follow....

Frances
12th December 2015, 20:24
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Neemrana Baoli, Neemrana, Rajasthan.

Source:- http://www.victorialautman.com/india.html

By Victoria S. Lautman.


More images to follow....

Frances
12th December 2015, 20:35
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/B7333EE5-3F82-49F4-A1DE-F05BBAEF5E2B_zpstjkad0ow.jpg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/B7333EE5-3F82-49F4-A1DE-F05BBAEF5E2B_zpstjkad0ow.jpg.html)

Neemrana Baoli, Neemrana, Rajasthan.

Source:- http://www.victorialautman.com/india.html

By Victoria S. Lautman.

By the 19th-century, several thousand stepwells in varying degrees of grandeur are estimated to have been built throughout India, in cities, villages, and eventually also in private gardens where they’re known as “retreat wells”. But stepwells also proliferated along crucial, remote trade routes where travelers and pilgrims could park their animals and take shelter in covered arcades. They were the ultimate public monuments, available to both genders, every religion, seemingly anyone at all but for the lowest-caste Hindu. It was considered extremely meritorious to commission a stepwell, an earthbound bastion against Eternity, and it’s believed that a quarter of these wealthy or powerful philanthropists were female. Considering that fetching water was (and is still) assigned to women, the stepwells would have provided a reprieve in otherwise regimented lives, and gathering down in the village vav was surely an important social activity.
Frances.


More images to follow....

Frances
12th December 2015, 20:49
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/7A31F9E3-2D38-4ADB-920A-1C637F871A7C_zpsuihckq55.jpg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/7A31F9E3-2D38-4ADB-920A-1C637F871A7C_zpsuihckq55.jpg.html)

Mukundpura Baoli, Narnaul.

Source:- http://www.victorialautman.com/india.html

By Victoria S. Lautman.

Stepwells fall into similar categories based on their scale, layout, materials, and shape: they can be rectangular, circular, or even L-shaped, can be built from masonry, rubble or brick, and have as many as four separate entrances. But no two are identical and - whether simple and utilitarian, or complex and ornamented - each has a unique character. Much depends on where, when, and by whom they were commissioned, with Hindu structures functioning as bona-fide subterranean temples, replete with carved images of the male and female deities to whom the stepwells were dedicated. These sculptures formed a spiritual backdrop for ritual bathing, prayers and offerings that played an important role in many Hindu stepwells and despite a lack of accessible ground water, a number continue today as active temples, for instance the 11th-century Mata Bhavani vav in Ahmedabad.
Frances.


More images to follow....

Frances
12th December 2015, 21:13
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Rani Ki Vav, Patan.

Source:-http://www.victorialautman.com/india.html

By Victoria S. Lautman.

Nowhere was there a more elaborate backdrop for worship planned than at India’s best-known stepwell, the Rani ki vav (Queen’s Well) two hours away in Patan. Commissioned by Queen Udayamati around 1060 A.D. to commemorate her deceased spouse, the enormous scale – 210 feet long by 65 wide – probably contributed to disastrous flooding that buried the vav for nearly a thousand years under sand and mud close to its completion. The builders realized they were attempting something risky, adding extra buttressing and massive support walls, but to no avail. In the 1980’s, the excavation and restoration of Rani ki vav (which is hoped to achieve UNESCO World Heritage status soon) were completed but by then, long-exposed columns on the first tier had been hauled off to build the nearby 18th-century Bahadur Singh ki vav, now completely encroached by homes.
Frances.


More images to follow....

Frances
12th December 2015, 22:01
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Bahadur Singh Ki Vav, Patan.

Source:- http://www.victorialautman.com/india.html

By Victoria S. Lautman.

Once Muslim rulers began to dominate in India (dates differ depending on the area) stepwells shifted in their design both structurally and decoratively. Hindu builders used trabeate (or post and lintel) construction with corbel domes, Muslims introduced the arch and “true” dome. Hindu artists carved sculptures and friezes packed with deities, humans, and animals while Islam forbade depictions of any creatures at all. But when, for a brief period in Gujarat, the two traditions collided around 1500 A.D. a pair of brilliant offspring resulted close to the new capital of Ahmedabad, and worth a detour for anyone visiting the modernist masterworks of Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn, or B.V. Doshi.
Frances.


More images to follow....

sandy
12th December 2015, 22:25
thanks for more history that has been overlooked and or hidden...:)

Frances
12th December 2015, 22:30
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/FF6F1369-B581-4163-A8B1-533FF9276858_zpszd3imvxn.jpg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/FF6F1369-B581-4163-A8B1-533FF9276858_zpszd3imvxn.jpg.html)

Rudabai Vav, Adalaj.

Source:- http://www.victorialautman.com/india.html

By Victoria S. Lautman.

Both the Rudabai and Dada Harir vavs are five stories deep with octagonal subterranean pools, each commissioned by a female patroness and, although Rudabai boasts three separate entrances (a rarity), it and Dada Harir vav are conceptual cousins, built at virtually the same moment just twelve miles from one another, commissioned under Islamic authority using Hindu artisans. Each is elaborately decorated, but with a notable absence of deities and human figures, but compared to other, more somber Islamic-commissioned stepwells, these two are positively flamboyant.

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/D7A684C8-8FB5-40A8-8A37-6E477BDDCF2A_zpsipku6o2s.jpg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/D7A684C8-8FB5-40A8-8A37-6E477BDDCF2A_zpsipku6o2s.jpg.html)

Rudabai Vav, Adalaj.
Frances.


More images to follow....

Frances
12th December 2015, 23:01
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Dada Harir, Ahmedabad.

Source:- http://www.victorialautman.com/india.html

By Victoria S. Lautman.

As for the current state of stepwells, a hand-full are in relatively decent condition, particularly those few where tourists might materialize. But for most, the prevailing condition is simply deplorable due to a host of reasons. For one, under the British Raj, stepwells were deemed unhygienic breeding grounds for disease and parasites and were consequently barricaded, filled in, or otherwise destroyed. “Modern” substitutes like village taps, plumbing, and water tanks also eliminated the physical need for stepwells, if not the social and spiritual aspects. As obsolescence set in, stepwells were ignored by their communities, became garbage dumps and latrines, while others were repurposed as storage areas, mined for their stone, or just left to decay.
Frances.


More images to follow....

Frances
12th December 2015, 23:20
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Trashed Anonymous Baoli, Fatehpur.

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/63075636-EFDA-4A26-A84A-45A51D543634_zpsmfdehtnl.jpg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/63075636-EFDA-4A26-A84A-45A51D543634_zpsmfdehtnl.jpg.html)

Mertani Baoli, Jhunjhunu.

Source:- http://www.victorialautman.com/india.html

Victoria S. Lautman.


More images to follow....

sandy
13th December 2015, 02:16
What stops them from collecting the water from the monsoons to date?? I probably could find out it I wasn't so lazy tonight and did some research, but I'm copping out as my eyes are too sore to read much more.....thanks again for posting Frances :)

Elen
13th December 2015, 10:26
Once again Frances, what a great find this was. Thank you for sharing! I think maybe they’ll start cleaning them up again, when superstition disappears, and the need overrides fear. I never knew they existed.

Oh, it was called progress and everybody fell for it when faced with powerful leaders telling them it’s unhealthy. I think we all have listened to bad advise in our past.

Frances
13th December 2015, 11:48
There are some more images that I wish to post a bit later on.
Victoria Lautman has done all the field work and research, it's thanks to her that they are brought to people's attention so they may not be lost forever, I bet there are many still buried, the tourist ones will not be lost though.
Frances.

Frances
13th December 2015, 16:55
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/10F4F294-2153-4895-9FDE-A06A2F0F9FE3_zpsywozeuck.jpg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/10F4F294-2153-4895-9FDE-A06A2F0F9FE3_zpsywozeuck.jpg.html)

Takht Baoli, Narnaul.

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/F84F398B-F517-478B-BDE7-5E10C094E514_zpss11vbiih.jpg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/F84F398B-F517-478B-BDE7-5E10C094E514_zpss11vbiih.jpg.html)

Takht Baoli, Narnaul.

Source:- http://www.victorialautman.com/india.html

By Victoria S. Lautman.

Frances
13th December 2015, 17:24
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/0B88815D-27D5-42D1-A16E-2A3B65D888DB_zpsi9vitkey.jpg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/0B88815D-27D5-42D1-A16E-2A3B65D888DB_zpsi9vitkey.jpg.html)

Ganga Vav, Vadhaven.

Depleted water-tables from unregulated pumping have caused many of the wells to dry up, and when water is present, it’s generally afloat with garbage or grown over with plant-life from lack of attention, even in currently-active temple wells.

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/2CD3B776-F51F-490D-BDB1-F08088AD8CE6_zpsz1cclwqj.jpg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/2CD3B776-F51F-490D-BDB1-F08088AD8CE6_zpsz1cclwqj.jpg.html)

Gandhaki Ki Baoli, Delhi.

Source:- http://www.victorialautman.com/india.html

By Victoria S. Lautman.

Frances
13th December 2015, 18:08
Lhttp://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/3FBA9734-016A-4A71-9536-6A0D506A1D1A_zpspydccmkx.jpg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/3FBA9734-016A-4A71-9536-6A0D506A1D1A_zpspydccmkx.jpg.html)

Bhamaria Vav, Mehmedabad.

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/6B3BC219-2427-4ADE-99EF-A7D04D5519E6_zpstsn7a2fd.jpg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/6B3BC219-2427-4ADE-99EF-A7D04D5519E6_zpstsn7a2fd.jpg.html)

Anonymous Baoli (possibly Nagphuria ke Baoli, Narnaul).

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Madha Vav, Vadhavan


http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/7EE5727C-9BF3-42C1-BA95-B70931F29694_zpsqxmjvugz.jpg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/7EE5727C-9BF3-42C1-BA95-B70931F29694_zpsqxmjvugz.jpg.html)

Helical Vav, Champaner.

Source:- http://www.victorialautman.com/india.html

By Victoria S. Lautman.

Frances
13th December 2015, 18:37
http://youtu.be/9xDUa30jn0s

India's disappearing Stepwells.

Short Video 6:00

Frances
13th December 2015, 19:49
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/9F0D19BF-2C12-4E42-B961-EF5046233B2D.png_zps22b4cs0z.jpeg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/9F0D19BF-2C12-4E42-B961-EF5046233B2D.png_zps22b4cs0z.jpeg.html)

Source:- http://whenonearth.net/walk-the-3500-narrow-steps-of-chand-baori/

Link to the full article & web site where more images can be found.

Chand Baori: India’s Sublime Ancient Stepwell

If M.C. Escher ever designed stepwells in India 1000 years before he was born, the Chand Baori was probably his design. Located in the village of Abhaneri near Jaipur in the Indian state of Rajasthan,

Chand Baori is the one of the deepest and largest stepwells in India. Chand Baori was commissioned by King Chanda in the 9th century to give the local population easy access to clean ground water at the bottom of the well. Because the steps of the well made it possible for regular villagers to descend down to fetch water, Chand Baori became a popular gathering place, especially during periods of hot weather when the temperature at the bottom of the well would be several degrees cooler than at surface.

The well’s 3,500 narrow steps descend down 12 stories in a dizzying pattern that would give even Felix Baumgartner a feeling of vertigo (okay, so we exaggerate). Chand Baori is no longer an active well and is maintained by the Archeological Survey of India. The algae-covered green water at the bottom of the well does not exactly invoke feelings of refreshment, but certainly adds an otherworldy element to this already mystical structure.

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/9957238A-8B4E-405A-953A-559E6DFAA1D9_zpsdqu4ubej.jpg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/9957238A-8B4E-405A-953A-559E6DFAA1D9_zpsdqu4ubej.jpg.html)

Building stepwells has been a necessity under northern India’s hot summers. The earliest were made around 550 AD, but famous ones like Chand Baori were made during medieval times. And from those times, over 3,000 stepwells were built in India’s two northern states.

But nowadays, don’t expect to still see thousands of them for some have gone dry, old, filled with trash and abandoned; unlike the preserved ancient stepwells like Chand Baori, Agrasen Ki Baoli, Rani Ki Ji Baori, and Adalaj Vav.

Chand Baori isn’t only visited by the locals before just to get clean water for drinking and cooking. Some even had stayed here to bathe, meditate and pray because for Hindus, water is sacred and it represents the boundary between heaven and Earth.

And didn’t you know that this not-so-popular site was actually featured in Hollywood films like “The Fall” (2006) and “The Dark Knight Rises” (Batman, 2012)?

If you plan on going to Jaipur and head to Taj Mahal right after, get this chance right away to get off route and stop over Chand Baori which you can find through the ruined Harshad Mata temple right beside it. Going there could take you for 2 hours from Jaipur by cab, or longer especially if your driver isn’t familiar with the place. Chand Baori isn’t a popular tourist spot and even the locals may not instruct you the precise way to the stepwell, so better be sure you have enough time or better join tours that include the surprising Chand Baori.

It’s best to visit the village and stepwell from October to March. Be sure that you have packed food and water for there aren’t any facilities around the area.
Frances.

Frances
13th December 2015, 20:33
http://youtu.be/MJGO3ySQ13o

Rani Ni Vav, Patan Gujarat, India.

Recent UNESCO's World Heritage Site. Queens Stepwell.

Short video 2:31.
Frances.

pabranno
14th December 2015, 00:46
Frances,
Thank you so much for the time and effort you take to post these threads. Absolutely fascinating, and you clearly go to great lengths to provide details and beautiful images. I found the French revolution thread profound and thought provoking. I appreciate you very much.

Pamela

bsbray
14th December 2015, 03:33
There are some ancient structures built over top of natural springs in Great Britain too, and probably a lot of other places, but I have never seen any this impressive. Some of these, like the one at Chand Baori, pretty well leave me speechless. Ancient Rome would have been jealous. This was not a primitive culture.

Frances
14th December 2015, 12:55
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/F47A7064-07CC-4295-9B50-CECDA4290462_zpstebcvfvu.jpg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/F47A7064-07CC-4295-9B50-CECDA4290462_zpstebcvfvu.jpg.html)

Nahargarh Fort Step Well. Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Source:- https://www.quora.com/Where-are-some-interesting-underground-building-or-architecture-works

By Abhilash Padhi.

Welcome to the neglected step-wells of India:
Rudimentary step-wells first appeared in India between the 2nd and 4th centuries A.D, born of necessity in a capricious climate zone. It was essential to guarantee a year-round water-supply for drinking, bathing, irrigation and washing, particularly in the arid states of Gujarat (where they’re called vavs) and Rajasthan (where they’re baoli, baori, or bawdi), where the water table could be inconveniently buried ten-stories or more underground. Over the centuries, step-well construction evolved so that by the 11th century they were astoundingly complex feats of engineering, architecture, and art, which encompassed the religion too, making those wells sacred, and signified an inverted Hindu temple. Overall, a beautiful example of fractals in architecture.
Frances.

Frances
14th December 2015, 13:04
Hello Pamela, thank you very much for your kind words. I'm glad you find the posts interesting. I tried to inject some heart and compassion into The French Revoloution Thread, due to the collection of very painful stories, so I'm happy you saw that.
Frances.

Hello bsbray, I might try to find the time in the near future to explore on the Internet those ancient structures in the U.K.
Thank you Frances.

Dreamtimer
14th December 2015, 13:43
These are stunning.

bsbray
14th December 2015, 21:30
The ones in the UK are nowhere near this size from what I've seen. They're just old bath houses attributed to Romans, over springs that are even conventionally considered to have been sacred to the pagan Celts and other cultures in the area long before the Romans arrived. It's just with the advent of chronology revisionists and work such as Syvie that we have to reconsider who actually built these bath houses and if the conventional narrative of them being built by invading Romans is really that accurate.

Windancer
16th December 2015, 17:39
Most are pretty cool looking with articulate architecture too...wow, never knew these existed. Thanks!

Frances
19th December 2015, 23:14
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/5CAE394C-1CCF-41DC-A81E-F0F897C7CF79_zps4mxtfkqt.jpg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/5CAE394C-1CCF-41DC-A81E-F0F897C7CF79_zps4mxtfkqt.jpg.html)

(Image: Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Flowers, London)

Source:- https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22029394-700-labyrinthine-m-c-escher-stairs-line-vast-indian-well/

Pana Meena, Amber, Rajasthan.

ESCHER might have gawped. But this labyrinthine nest of stairs is no impossible construction. Between AD 600 and 1850, more than 3000 step wells were dug, by hand, in the Indian provinces of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Many of them had intricate staircase designs, peppered with shrines and balconies on which to linger in the afternoon heat.

They reach deep underground and provided insurance against the region’s fluctuating water supply. The stairs guided local people – women, mostly – down to the water that seeps in from nearby aquifers. During the rainy season, the wells fill up, but in the dry season, you would have to lug containers up and down the entire well. This particular well, Panna Meena ka Kund near Amber Fort in Rajasthan, has eight storeys. According to local tradition, you must use different sets of stairs to climb down and climb out.

The photograph was taken by Edward Burtynsky for his latest exhibition, Water, which opens at Flowers Gallery in London on 16 October. “I wanted to find ways to make compelling photographs about the human systems employed to redirect and control water,” he writes in the accompanying book. His research took him around the globe, from the fish farms and giant dams of China to Iceland’s glaciers and the salt flats of Mexico.

Burtynsky found it a challenge to gain enough height to capture the enormous scale of water resources and the structures we build to tap them, and had to resort to drones, aerial lifts and helicopters. He took this picture using a 15-metre pneumatic mast, with his remotely controlled camera mounted on the top.
Frances.

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/76D37F0C-E9A2-4233-9E31-46AC433A4E39.png_zps7khk1v0s.jpeg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/76D37F0C-E9A2-4233-9E31-46AC433A4E39.png_zps7khk1v0s.jpeg.html)

sandy
20th December 2015, 01:42
Ancient civilizations put such intelligent design into their building of structures it seems to me. They not only address functionality & practicality, but address visual and creative arts. They are not only inventive and genius but beautiful puzzles of accomplishments causing intuitive and mental quandaries of who, what, where, why and how in all of us.

Aianawa
20th December 2015, 04:58
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/5CAE394C-1CCF-41DC-A81E-F0F897C7CF79_zps4mxtfkqt.jpg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/5CAE394C-1CCF-41DC-A81E-F0F897C7CF79_zps4mxtfkqt.jpg.html)

(Image: Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Flowers, London)

Source:- https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22029394-700-labyrinthine-m-c-escher-stairs-line-vast-indian-well/

Pana Meena, Amber, Rajasthan.

ESCHER might have gawped. But this labyrinthine nest of stairs is no impossible construction. Between AD 600 and 1850, more than 3000 step wells were dug, by hand, in the Indian provinces of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Many of them had intricate staircase designs, peppered with shrines and balconies on which to linger in the afternoon heat.

They reach deep underground and provided insurance against the region’s fluctuating water supply. The stairs guided local people – women, mostly – down to the water that seeps in from nearby aquifers. During the rainy season, the wells fill up, but in the dry season, you would have to lug containers up and down the entire well. This particular well, Panna Meena ka Kund near Amber Fort in Rajasthan, has eight storeys. According to local tradition, you must use different sets of stairs to climb down and climb out.

The photograph was taken by Edward Burtynsky for his latest exhibition, Water, which opens at Flowers Gallery in London on 16 October. “I wanted to find ways to make compelling photographs about the human systems employed to redirect and control water,” he writes in the accompanying book. His research took him around the globe, from the fish farms and giant dams of China to Iceland’s glaciers and the salt flats of Mexico.

Burtynsky found it a challenge to gain enough height to capture the enormous scale of water resources and the structures we build to tap them, and had to resort to drones, aerial lifts and helicopters. He took this picture using a 15-metre pneumatic mast, with his remotely controlled camera mounted on the top.
Frances.

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/76D37F0C-E9A2-4233-9E31-46AC433A4E39.png_zpszo9khy5u.jpeg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/76D37F0C-E9A2-4233-9E31-46AC433A4E39.png_zpszo9khy5u.jpeg.html)

How accurate is the dating for all these wells, some have an ancient feel about them, some more purpose driven, ?.

bsbray
20th December 2015, 05:31
I'd be wary of any date attributed to them, especially from the Middle Ages back. Since the British colonization of India, their traditional history (a lot of it preserved in the Vedas) has been twisted around to fit conventional Greek and Roman history largely by guesswork based on trying to match one name in an ancient Indian text to another in a Greek or Roman text. The result has left at least one research I've came across from India already trying to reconstruct Indian history, to say nothing of revisionist chronologists in the western hemisphere.

Aianawa
20th December 2015, 05:54
That was my feeling Bsbray, feel there is a goldmine of truth, lie shattering. Have not begun researching as yet ( did research Madras = Chennai as is closest city to Oneness university so felt it would have some clearing/turbuLANCE ), but have seen some info from Elen's survivor thread regarding concerntration camps by the usual suspects when taking over anothers land, mind, culture etc.

Frances
22nd December 2015, 14:38
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/8E5FADF0-417E-4374-8B5F-7C8D32F4D545.png_zpszg07jl5d.jpeg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/8E5FADF0-417E-4374-8B5F-7C8D32F4D545.png_zpszg07jl5d.jpeg.html)

Source:- http://m.indiatvnews.com/news/india/adi-kadi-stepwell-in-junagadh-31282.html

Adi-Kadi Vav.

New DelhI: Junagadh is an ancient and the 7th largest city in Gujarat. It is known for its various attractive and interesting places.
Literally translated, Junagadh means "Old Fort" and with its many eye-catching monuments which reminds one of its great history. Junagadh joined India on 9 November 1947 after a brief struggle between India and Pakistan.

It was a part of Saurashtra state and later Bombay state. It became part of newly formed Gujarat state in 1960, after the Maha Gujarat movement.
The city has acquired an important place in the tourist map of Gujarat with thousands of tourists visiting the city for religious, educational, and entertainment purposes.

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/A03DDF53-4D99-45B9-AC89-20A04447AA0C_zps1qtbgzke.jpg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/A03DDF53-4D99-45B9-AC89-20A04447AA0C_zps1qtbgzke.jpg.html)

In Junagadh there is an amazingly and an unusual form of stepwell built which is entirely different from any other stepwell built in any part of India.
This stepwell is carved out of stone leaving the structure of the well out of the original rock, unlike other stepwells dug through various kinds of subsoils and rock layers. The stepwell is popularly known as Adi-Kadi stepwell.

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/A9055D43-951A-4DB8-A2B9-1F3DB3216508_zpsiy1gpigp.jpg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/A9055D43-951A-4DB8-A2B9-1F3DB3216508_zpsiy1gpigp.jpg.html)

The whole structure of the well is hewn out of a single stone and no structural construction is done.

Adi-kadi Vav, built in the 15th century, is carved entirely out of hard rock. A narrow flight of 120 stairs cuts down through the stone to meet the well shaft deep in the stone. Two different legends claim to explain the name of the well. One says that the king ordered a stepwell to be built and workers excavated down into this hard stone, but no water was found. The royal priest said that water would only be found if two unmarried girls were sacrificed. Adi and Kadi were the unlucky ones chosen for this and after their sacrifice, water was found. The other story, less fantastic but probably more likely, claims that Adi and Kadi were the names of the royal servant girls who fetched water from the well every day. Either way, people still hang cloth and bangles on a tree nearby in their memory.
Frances.

Frances
15th January 2016, 15:09
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-01/5BBAE7B2-8DCB-4784-8D37-E127B97B7D30_zps25u1ijtq.jpg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-01/5BBAE7B2-8DCB-4784-8D37-E127B97B7D30_zps25u1ijtq.jpg.html)

Photo by Edward Burtynsky. Courtesy of Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Howard Greenberg Gallery, and Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery.
Sagar Kund Baori, Bundi, Rajasthan

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-01/ED706F30-6FA8-4065-B050-07C8579796AA.png_zps02ozahp9.jpeg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-01/ED706F30-6FA8-4065-B050-07C8579796AA.png_zps02ozahp9.jpeg.html)

There are plenty of step-wells like these, each with a distinct flavour and history behind it, in norh-west India. Some are in Pakistan too.
Frances.

Elen
15th January 2016, 15:23
They are beautiful to look at, Frances.

Frances
15th January 2016, 16:12
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-01/B541E24A-6FD3-4A17-80A0-0472DBBBF98B.png_zpstpnvjwjd.jpeg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-01/B541E24A-6FD3-4A17-80A0-0472DBBBF98B.png_zpstpnvjwjd.jpeg.html)

Source:- https://www.quora.com/Where-are-some-interesting-underground-building-or-architecture-works

By Abhilash Padhi.

Ram Kund, near Sun temple Modhera, Gujarat:
This stepped cistern is attached to the Sun temple. It is 52.8m x 36m, with about 70 small shrines scattered along the steps. Used not only for ablution but also for religious ceremonies.
Frances.

Frances
15th January 2016, 17:30
Source:- https://www.quora.com/Where-are-some-interesting-underground-building-or-architecture-works

By Abhilash Padhi.

Ruda ki Baoli, Adalaj, Gujarat - built 1502
Again a Waghela queen named Ruda's desire in memory of her dead husband! Legend says, she apparently threw herself willingly and drowned, to avoid marriage to another king. Those folktales, they are a plenty!

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-01/28BC3F6D-D589-4FE3-84A9-E79BAF3FCF92.png_zps23ns0wnl.jpeg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-01/28BC3F6D-D589-4FE3-84A9-E79BAF3FCF92.png_zps23ns0wnl.jpeg.html)

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-01/58C750C8-9A24-4C47-9947-4CD9294E9B75.png_zpshuvyexbo.jpeg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-01/58C750C8-9A24-4C47-9947-4CD9294E9B75.png_zpshuvyexbo.jpeg.html)

Vista from mid level

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-01/AE3536AA-10A7-468F-B4DD-3A55DA50238A.png_zpsgwmyvho7.jpeg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-01/AE3536AA-10A7-468F-B4DD-3A55DA50238A.png_zpsgwmyvho7.jpeg.html)

Welcome to the neglected step-wells of India:
Rudimentary step-wells first appeared in India between the 2nd and 4th centuries A.D, born of necessity in a capricious climate zone. It was essential to guarantee a year-round water-supply for drinking, bathing, irrigation and washing, particularly in the arid states of Gujarat (where they’re called vavs) and Rajasthan (where they’re baoli, baori, or bawdi), where the water table could be inconveniently buried ten-stories or more underground. Over the centuries, step-well construction evolved so that by the 11th century they were astoundingly complex feats of engineering, architecture, and art, which encompassed the religion too, making those wells sacred, and signified an inverted Hindu temple. Overall, a beautiful example of fractals in architecture.
Frances.

Aianawa
18th May 2016, 06:32
Any definite age found for these older Wells, totally sacred feel to them, even with sewerage in them lol.

Amanda
18th May 2016, 07:46
Wonderful thread Frances - I feel compelled to say that the History lesson you have delivered has me thoroughly transfixed. I kept thinking 'Sacred Geometry' was a definite component of the engineering. Even the fort step well - it diverted from the tessellations but reminded me of the underbelly of a whale. Yes I am a lateral thinker and a critical thinker and as creative person I am definitely a creative thinker.

Thank you. Much Peace - Amanda

Frances
18th May 2016, 13:11
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/9F0D19BF-2C12-4E42-B961-EF5046233B2D.png_zps22b4cs0z.jpeg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/9F0D19BF-2C12-4E42-B961-EF5046233B2D.png_zps22b4cs0z.jpeg.html)

Source:- http://whenonearth.net/walk-the-3500-narrow-steps-of-chand-baori/

Link to the full article & web site where more images can be found.

Chand Baori: India’s Sublime Ancient Stepwell

If M.C. Escher ever designed stepwells in India 1000 years before he was born, the Chand Baori was probably his design. Located in the village of Abhaneri near Jaipur in the Indian state of Rajasthan,

Chand Baori is the one of the deepest and largest stepwells in India. Chand Baori was commissioned by King Chanda in the 9th century to give the local population easy access to clean ground water at the bottom of the well. Because the steps of the well made it possible for regular villagers to descend down to fetch water, Chand Baori became a popular gathering place, especially during periods of hot weather when the temperature at the bottom of the well would be several degrees cooler than at surface.

The well’s 3,500 narrow steps descend down 12 stories in a dizzying pattern that would give even Felix Baumgartner a feeling of vertigo (okay, so we exaggerate). Chand Baori is no longer an active well and is maintained by the Archeological Survey of India. The algae-covered green water at the bottom of the well does not exactly invoke feelings of refreshment, but certainly adds an otherworldy element to this already mystical structure.

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/9957238A-8B4E-405A-953A-559E6DFAA1D9_zpsdqu4ubej.jpg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/9957238A-8B4E-405A-953A-559E6DFAA1D9_zpsdqu4ubej.jpg.html)

Building stepwells has been a necessity under northern India’s hot summers. The earliest were made around 550 AD, but famous ones like Chand Baori were made during medieval times. And from those times, over 3,000 stepwells were built in India’s two northern states.

But nowadays, don’t expect to still see thousands of them for some have gone dry, old, filled with trash and abandoned; unlike the preserved ancient stepwells like Chand Baori, Agrasen Ki Baoli, Rani Ki Ji Baori, and Adalaj Vav.

Chand Baori isn’t only visited by the locals before just to get clean water for drinking and cooking. Some even had stayed here to bathe, meditate and pray because for Hindus, water is sacred and it represents the boundary between heaven and Earth.

And didn’t you know that this not-so-popular site was actually featured in Hollywood films like “The Fall” (2006) and “The Dark Knight Rises” (Batman, 2012)?

If you plan on going to Jaipur and head to Taj Mahal right after, get this chance right away to get off route and stop over Chand Baori which you can find through the ruined Harshad Mata temple right beside it. Going there could take you for 2 hours from Jaipur by cab, or longer especially if your driver isn’t familiar with the place. Chand Baori isn’t a popular tourist spot and even the locals may not instruct you the precise way to the stepwell, so better be sure you have enough time or better join tours that include the surprising Chand Baori.

It’s best to visit the village and stepwell from October to March. Be sure that you have packed food and water for there aren’t any facilities around the area.
Frances.

Hello Aianawa, there is reference to the dates in this post, although after reading Ellen's thread, When The Atlantis Survivours Wake Up, and reading about Silvie's research I keep a very open mind about dates now.
It's said these wells were dug out by hand, they are massive and very very deep the logistics of this is mind boggling.
Frances.

Hello Amanda, thank you for your kind words, I'm glad you enjoyed the images and the little bit of Indian history.
Frances.

scibuster
18th May 2016, 16:09
They had no Elevators.
This is the only way to let many people climb a high at the same time when place is reduced.

Aianawa
8th December 2018, 07:40
Just Amazing


http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a632/nicolaR1/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/7F1D4DF0-DDCE-42CA-85F1-91320B8FB23D_zpsan2n9x4i.jpg (http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/nicolaR1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-12/7F1D4DF0-DDCE-42CA-85F1-91320B8FB23D_zpsan2n9x4i.jpg.html)

Dada Harir, Ahmedabad.

Source:- http://www.victorialautman.com/india.html

By Victoria S. Lautman.

As for the current state of stepwells, a hand-full are in relatively decent condition, particularly those few where tourists might materialize. But for most, the prevailing condition is simply deplorable due to a host of reasons. For one, under the British Raj, stepwells were deemed unhygienic breeding grounds for disease and parasites and were consequently barricaded, filled in, or otherwise destroyed. “Modern” substitutes like village taps, plumbing, and water tanks also eliminated the physical need for stepwells, if not the social and spiritual aspects. As obsolescence set in, stepwells were ignored by their communities, became garbage dumps and latrines, while others were repurposed as storage areas, mined for their stone, or just left to decay.
Frances.


More images to follow....

Dreamtimer
8th December 2018, 15:28
Indeed.

https://s15-us2.startpage.com/cgi-bin/serveimage?url=http%3A%2F%2Fthefunambulistdotnet.f iles.wordpress.com%2F2012%2F01%2Fsteps-to-the-water-morna-livingstone002.jpg&sp=8b33cc530602b529dcad6105d03255a1

https://s15-us2.startpage.com/cgi-bin/serveimage?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext %2Fdam%2Fassets%2F150921151334-victoria-lautman-1-full-169.jpg&sp=7882869a649305f3efac729cf16e7b1f

Aianawa
19th July 2019, 09:41
The appear to be water enhancers and purifirers according to Martin, still watch his vid but he even has some of these stepwells in his vid, not knowing they were everywhere back in time and all over the world as Colosseums etc.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uYEXdN0tJw

Aianawa
5th May 2022, 07:32
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpRm8ArVJkE