Tentative UNESCO list

Tentative UNESCO list

News: Recently, Madhya Pradesh’s six heritage sites have been included in the tentative UNESCO list.

Which are the sites?
 The sites are Gwalior Fort, the historical Group of Dhamnar, the Rock Art Sites of Chambal Valley, Bhojeshwar Mahadev Temple, Burhanpur’s Khooni Bhandara and the Gond monuments of Ramnagar, Mandla.
 MP is home to three UNESCO world heritage sites – Sanchi Stupa, Khajuraho Group of Monuments and Bhimbetka Rock Shelters. 

About Gwalior Fort
 It was initiated by Raja Sourya Sena who finished the fortification system around the plateau in 773CE. 
 The modern-day fort, embodying a defensive structure and two palaces was built by the Tomar Rajput ruler Man Singh Tomar in 1398.
 Ancient Temples in the Gwalior fort includes:
o Teli ka Mandir, dedicated to lord Shiva, Vishnu, and Matrikas. 
o The Chaturbhuj temple which has mathematical connection where the second oldest reference to zero in mathematics is seen in a carving. 
o The adjoining twin temples are known as Sas Bahu temples, dedicated to Vishnu and have an inscription from 1150 CE.

Bhojeshwar Mahadev Temple
 The temple is thousand-year-old and dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is set on a 3-tier sandstone platform in 6 meters square.
 It has architectural grandeur, colossal lingam, and historical significance. 
 It was built during the 11th century under the patronage of Raja Bhoj in Bhojpur and represents the zenith of temple architecture during the Paramara period in India.

Khooni Bhandara
 It is an underground water management system comprising eight waterworks built in Burhanpur. 
 It is the Mughal period water work following the persian qanat approach.
 It was built by erstwhile ruler Abdurrahim Khankhana in 1615.

Historical Group of Dhamnar
 The Dhamnar caves are located on a hill near the village of Dhamnar.
 The rock-cut temple site has 51 caves, stupas, chaityas, passages and dense dwellings and was built in the 7th century AD. 
 The site contains a colossal statue of Gautam Buddha in the nirvana pose.

Gond Memorial of Ramnagar
 The architectural complexes were built by Gond kings of Garha Mandla, Hirde Shah and located on the bank of the Narmada river in Ramnagar.

Rock Art Sites of Chambal Valley
 At Daraki-Chattan in the Chambal basin, a cave in the quartzite buttresses of Indragarh hill. 
 The vertical walls of the cave boast more than 500 cupules. On the southern wall of the cave at Daraki-Chattan, small circular cupules show conical depth and are about two million years old.