Kumtura Caves

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Kumtura Caves
Kuntula Grottoes 1, Kuqa.jpg
Kumtula Grottoes
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Location Xinjiang, China
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The Kumtura Thousand Buddha Caves (Chinese: {{{1}}}) (also Qumtura) is a Buddhist cave temple site in the Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, China. The site is located some 25 km west of Kucha, Kuqa County, on the ancient Silk Road.[1][2] Other famous sites nearby are the Kizilgaha caves, the Kizil Caves, Subashi Temple and the Simsim caves.[3]

112 cave temples survive, dating from the fifth to the eleventh centuries. Damage by occasional habitation after abandonment of the site, Kumtura was visited by a number of the early foreign expeditions to Chinese Central Asia, including the 1902 Ōtani expedition, Oldenburg, and Le Coq.[4][5][6][7] The last detached several wall paintings and took them back to Berlin (now at the Museum für Asiatische Kunst).[8]

Construction of the Dongfang Hong Hydroelectric Plant in the 1970s caused the water level of the Muzat River to rise and has increased the rate of decay of the wall paintings.[1] Long-term preservation measures under the auspices of UNESCO began in 1999 with extensive documentation and survey work and consolidation of the conglomerate rock from which the caves are excavated.[1][9] The site was among the first to be designated for protection in 1961 as a Major National Historical and Cultural Site.[10] In 2008 Kumtula Grottoes was submitted for future inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Chinese Section of the Silk Road.[11]

Gallery

  • Kumtura Caves overview.jpg

    Kumtura Caves overview

  • The Kumtura Grottoes are located along the Muzat River.

  • Kumtura Caves plan.jpg

    Kumtura Caves, sample plan

  • Headless statue from Kumtura at the Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Berlin

  • Donors from Kumtura Caves.jpg

    Donors in Hephthalite style, Kumtura Caves. Similar donors can be seen in the Kizil Caves.[12][13] Circa 500 CE.[14][15]

  • Group of donors, Kumtura Caves.jpg

    Group of donors, Kumtura Caves.

  • Dignitary seized by soldiers. Kumtura painting, 8th-9th century CE.jpg

    Dignitary seized by soldiers. Kumtura painting, 8th-9th century CE

  • Kumtura Devatas.jpg

    Statuettes of Devatas, Kumtura

  • Man in royal attire, Kumtura Caves.jpg

    Man in royal attire, Kumtura Caves

  • Kumtura deity (1).jpg

    Kumtura deity (dome)

  • Kumtura deity (2).jpg

    Kumtura deity (dome)

  • Kumtura Cave Painting 1.jpg

    Fresco on the dome

See also

References

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External links

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ (Other than Kizil)... "The nearby site of Kumtura contains over a hundred caves, forty of which contain painted murals or inscriptions. Other cave sites near Kucha include Subashi, Kizilgaha, and Simsim." in Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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