Living Rock: Massive Monuments Sculpted In Situ

The Giant Buddha, Leshan

China has many a Buddha dotted throughout its extraordinary landscapes but the Giant Buddha of Leshan is unique in that it was carved directly out of the cliff face - just look at the people at the feet of the statue.  The sculpture, which is seventy one meters (or over three hundred feet) tall dwarfs the tourists that flock to see it.  It is positioned so that it faces Mount Emei and stands at the meeting place of three rivers.  Although the Government of China has promised a restoration program, the statue has suffered from the effects of pollution, particularly over the last twenty years. Fortunately, the statue was not damaged in the Sichuan earthquake of 2008.

The Church of Saint George, Lalibela

Lalibela in Ethiopia is the home of eleven churches, hewn from the rock.  The most famous is that of Saint George, which was built in the thirteenth century.  As demonstrable a point as you can get that Africa was not the 'dark continent' many suppose until the arrival of Europeans, it shows that technology there was virtually on a par with that of the western world.  The site is a UNESCO world heritage center and has often been referred to as the eighth wonder of the world.   Its dimensions - 25 times 25 times 30 give it is rectangular shape.

Somapura Mahavihara, Parhapur

Bangladesh has a long and vibrant history and is dotted with religious sites that simply take the breath away.  Among them is the Somapura Mahavihara, which was a Buddhist monastery (otherwise known as a vihara).  It is thought that it was carved at the end of the eight century CE.  The site covers twenty seven acres and was an important academic center for people of three religions (showing that we can all get along when we have to, surely).   You could think of it as a kind of contemplative university.  Monks from as far afield as Tibet regularly visited it in its heyday.

Crazy Horse Memorial, South Dakota

Although the USA is a comparative newcomer to massive sculptures which have been carved in situ, Mount Rushmore is among the most famous statues in the world and will no doubt withstand the millennia as it was designed to do.  When finished, however, the Crazy Horse Memorial should be the largest sculpture in the world and stand over one hundred and seventy two meters (that's five hundred and sixty three feet).  In other words, it will be almost ten times taller than each of the Presidents' heads at Rushmore.  Started in 1948, it remains unfinished and there is no date which has been fixed for its completion either.  The face, however, was completed in 1998.

Naqsh-e Rustam, Persepolis

Iran is not exactly out of bounds to western tourists but is not as such in the top fifty destinations.  This is a shame as the country holds some astonishing archaeological secrets.  One of these is the Naqsh-e Rustam, dating from the sixth century BCE.  They are all carved at great heights and the technology and manpower needed for such tasks must have been unimaginable then as they are still astonishing today.  They are known as the Persian Crosses by local people as the facades are carved in such a shape.  The center of each of the crosses leads to a small chamber where the king would have been laid in a sarcophagus.

http://www.quazen.com/Arts/Architecture/Living-Rock-Massive-Monuments-Sculpted-In-Situ.690189