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Shri Ashtapad Maha Tirth - II
established at heights upto 5400 m. However, in the Lamaist era (1000-1950 CE), large installations were not built above 4800 m. The cultural rigor of the pre-Buddhist inhabitants and the deterioration of the climate appear to mostly account for this retreat from the higher elevation belt. The permanent residential infrastructure also became less dense in the Lamaist era. Many locales inhabited up to early historic times were subsequently abandoned and left to herders who exploited them on a seasonal basis (continuing to this very day). Depopulation and a decline in political fortunes also seem to be vital causal factors involved in this hollowing out of sedentary settlement at Mount Kailash. In total, there were fourteen major loci of archaic settlement at Mount Kailash, all of which are now vacated, save for visitation by an occasional pilgrim or adept. This chain of ruined sedentary settlements clearly demonstrates that Mount Kailash was once far more populated than in Lamaist times. Also, the nature of these early constructions suggests that at least in some ways the pre-Buddhist inhabitants were culturally more advanced than their Lamaist counterparts. In any event, the style of construction used in archaic era edifices relied on sophisticated masonry techniques that fell out of favor in Upper Tibet by circa 1000 CE. Where the architectonic character of pre-Buddhist temples and citadels can be appraised, they all share the same style of construction, which is best described as 'all-stone corbelled architecture'. This type of building is extremely rugged and durable, thus it is very well adapted to the extremely harsh climatic conditions of Upper Tibet. In these all-stone corbelled structures, rock members were placed on the tops of walls as load bearing devices for the stone roof assembly. Bridging stones were laid diagonally or crosswise over the corbels in order to span the distance between opposite walls. The corbels and bridging stones acted as support for the heavy stone sheathing from which roofs were constructed. The elementary corbelling technique employed in Upper Tibet was only suitable for use in small interior spaces (typically 3 m2 to 12 m2). Walls in this form of construction are relatively thick (between 60 cm and 1.2 m), and of a slab or block random-rubble texture. The walls exhibit both dry mortar and clay mortar seams. Exterior and interior corners tend to have a rounded quality, as this facilitates the arrangement of corbels. Interior walls are frequently punctuated with buttresses that function to support intervening series of corbels and roof appurtenances. The floor-toceiling height of rooms is relatively low (1.6 m to 2.1 m). Most buildings are windowless, and even in structures where there are interior and exterior window openings, these are tiny. Single buildings contain between two and one dozen rooms, which are normally arranged in rows or in isolated aggregations. Rooms directly open onto one another or are connected through short corridors. Another defining feature of all-stone corbelled edifices is the very small size of their doorways; these average only around 1.1 m in height. A selection of pre-Buddhist residential settlements around Mount Kailash The ruins of Mount Kailash Bon Castle are perched on a summit with excellent views of the Barkha plains, Lake Manasarovar and Rakshas Tal. This small installation appears to have functioned as a surveillance post for the ancient Mount Kailash communities.
The pre-Buddhist archaeological sites around Mount Kailash
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