“the use of the hemp plaster may have been for more than just preservation purposes. As the hemp plaster has the ability to store heat, is fire-resistant and absorbs about 90 percent of airborne sound, a peaceful living environment for the monks has been created at Ellora Caves”
– Researchers, Singh and Sardesai
Indra Sabha Temple – Ellora caves
What Bonds Us
Like a great epic, Ellora caves in India holds a ancient secret…
The ancient sites art and sculptures are preserved far better then other sites nearby of similar age, leading to the question why?…
The answer surprised many, HEMP…
The Buddhist “Carpenter’s” cave (Cave 10)
“The cannabis fibers are more durable than other fibers, and the sticky quality of the cannabis could have helped to form a firm binder. Hemp can also regulate humidity, repel insects, as well as having high vapor permeability, hygroscopic properties.”
– Rajdeo Singh, superintending archaeological chemist of the Archaeological Survey of India’s science branch
The Ellora caves in India are among the worlds ancient wonders. At the site 34 caves are carved right out of the mountain forming separate temples, 17 Hindu (caves 13–29), 12 Buddhist (caves 1–12) and 5 Jain (caves 30–34) caves all share the mountain side and are represented…
With such a majestic setting you would half expect Willow Ufgood to waddle out holding Elora Danan, but the magic in this Ellora is in the walls…
Huge relief sculpture of goddess Ganga at Kailasa Temple
Construction started around 550 A.D., the temple caves were carved right out of the mountain side by hand. Thousands of sculptures and reliefs cover the amazing ancient architecture.
With bug pocked rock all around, these caves and sculptures seemed to be in amazing shape for there age, which lead researchers to conduct some tests. The results were amazing.
A Plaster was coated over the finished carvings and walls. When the researchers tested this plaster they found it to contain Hemp…
10% hemp mixed with clay and lime made up the plaster used at the Ellora caves. Its the hemp used at the Ellora Caves that is the reason the insects have left much of the caves alone while reeking havoc on sites such as nearby Ajanta Caves, claim researchers…
Kailasa Temple – Ellora Caves
“The use of hemp helped the caves and most of the paintings remain intact at the 6th century Unesco World Heritage site,”
– according to the study by Rajdeo Singh
The study used technologies such as scanning with an electron microscope, Fourier transform, infra-red spectroscopy and stereo-microscopic studies to conclude there test.
Hemp specimens found in the plaster included “pounded pieces of shoots, fragmented leaves and a single flower” according to the study…
Close look at the hemp plaster from Ellora Caves, sample from Cave 12.
Recent studies conducted in Europe have estimated hempcrete to have a lifespan of 600-800 years, the plaster at Ellora caves dates back 1500 years and counting…
Ellora Caves: The dancing Shiva – Cave 21
The Ellora Caves in India continue to inspire the human soul with art and human ingenuity, but its the Hemp that truly bonds…
Gajantaka in the Kailashanatha temple at Ellora
Dhumar Lena (cave 29), one of the Hindu temples in the Ellora Caves
Ramayana sculpture, Kailasa Temple, Ellora caves, India
Jain sculpture, upper storey cave 32 (Indra Sabha) 9th century, Ellora
And a tour of The Kailasa Temple…
Tour of Ellora Caves. Cave 16 -The Kailasa Temple.