Spectacular Chand Baori Stepwell Of India That Resembles Reversed Pyramid
A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - Dedicated to Harshat Mata, goddess of joy and happiness, Chand Baori in India is one of the world's largest and most beautiful stepwells.
Panorama of Chand Baori. Image credit: Chainwit. - CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED
Chand Baori is a truly spectacular site. It looks almost like an ancient reversed pyramid. It is a true engineering marvel!
Due to the lack of water, many beautiful and functional stepwells exist in India. However, Chand Baori is an exceptional construction in many ways.
The four-sided Chand Baori is 13 stories tall, 100 feet deep, and lined with 3,500 steps arranged in a spectacular zig-zag pattern.
It is located opposite the Harshat Mata temple (dedicated to the goddess of happiness and joy). It was built in the ninth century, and it consists of 3,500 narrow steps, 13 floors, and is about 30 m deep.
The stepwell was built over a thousand years ago in the Abhaneri village of Rajasthan. Built by King Chanda of the Nikumbha Dynasty, it provided the surrounding areas with a dependable water source for centuries before modern water delivery systems were introduced.
Despite the open architecture, the temperatures at the bottom of the well are consistently five to six degrees below the temperatures on the surface.
During the monsoon season, the well has been known to fill almost to the top.
Chand Baori (stepwell), Abhaneri, Rajasthan, India. Image credit: Doron - CC BY-SA 3.0
This historical monument ranked alongside the Taj Mahal, reveals a maze of symmetrical steps that appear to form a never-ending path deep underground.
The Baori has a precise geometrical pattern, which is hard to find in this age. The steps form a magical maze, and the consequent play of light and shadow on the structure gives it a captivating look.
It has an enclosed rectangular courtyard structure. Upon entering, you reach a jharokha (windows).
Descending the stairs on the left, you can see the cavernous Baori narrowing towards the bottom, criss-crossed with double flights of steps on three sides to reach the water surface below.
View into the water basin at the bottom of the Chand Baori. Image credit: Vetra - CC BY-SA 3.0
The stairs encircle the water on the three sides. In contrast, the fourth side boasts a three-story high pavilion with beautifully carved jharokhas (an overhanging enclosed balcony), pillars-supported galleries, and two projecting balconies enshrining beautiful sculptures.
A closer look at the well's design reveals ancient Hindu mythology picture stories.
Legend has it that the spirits built this well in one night, and it has so many steps that it is impossible to retrieve the coin that was previously thrown into the well.
Chand Baori was featured in The Fall and made a small appearance in Christopher Nolan's blockbuster The Dark Knight Rises.
Today, the construction is no longer used as a well, but its exquisite geometry attracts local and international visitors alike. It is one of many gorgeous and worth-seeing ancient structures in India.
The well is now a treasure managed by the Archeological Survey of India.
Written by – A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com Senior Staff Writer
Updated on Nov 25, 2023
Copyright © AncientPages.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of AncientPages.com
More From Ancient Pages
-
Tiny Tools And Skills Of Mysterious Toaleans People In Southernmost Sulawesi, Indonesia
Archaeology | May 27, 2021
-
How Greenland Got The ‘Wrong’ Name Thanks To Viking Erik The Red
Ancient History Facts | Mar 21, 2017
-
Cyclopean Fortress Of Sacsayhuamán – ‘Impossible’ Ancient Technology In Peru
Featured Stories | Apr 10, 2017
-
One Of A Kind Viking Age Hammer Of Thor Discovered In Ysby, Sweden
Archaeology | Oct 17, 2022
-
Schoolboy Finds A Huge 3,000,000-Year-Old Megalodon Shark Tooth On British Beach
Archaeology | May 9, 2022
-
Tragic Tale Of The Cursed House Of Atreus
Featured Stories | Apr 12, 2021
-
Megaliths In Central France: 30 Prehistoric Monolith Stones And One Human Skeleton – Unearthed
Archaeology | Sep 11, 2019
-
Goddess Xi Wangmu (Xiwangmu) Who Controlled Life, Death, Creation And Talked Directly To Humans In Chinese Mythology
Chinese Mythology | Mar 12, 2020
-
Golden Secrets Of Lake Guatavita And The Muisca People Gave Rise To The El Dorado Myth
Featured Stories | Nov 12, 2019
-
Delphic Mysteries – Extraordinary Encounter At An Ancient Temple – Part 2
Featured Stories | Apr 3, 2023
-
A Ptolemaic Mummy Reveals Evidence Of Dental Filling Used In Ancient Egypt
Archaeology | Aug 6, 2020
-
3,000-Year-Old Nimrud Lens Could Re-Write The History Of Science – Was The World’s Oldest Telescope Developed By Ancient Assyrian Astronomers?
Ancient Technology | Oct 19, 2014
-
Slaves In The Aztec Empire Had Much Better Rights Than In Any Other Ancient Society
Ancient History Facts | Jul 6, 2016
-
Bandelier National Monument: Unusual Ancient Ruins Of Pueblo People In The Southwest
Civilizations | Jun 30, 2016
-
Egypt’s Dendera Temple: Second Restoration Phase Is Now Completed
Archaeology | Mar 6, 2021
-
The Untold Story Of The Inca – Fire In The Sky – Part 1
Civilizations | Jul 2, 2019
-
African Stonehenge – Extraordinary Stone Circles Of Senegambia – Who Were The Unknown Builders?
Civilizations | Mar 29, 2014
-
Olduvai Gorge: Direct Cosmogenic Nuclide Dating Of Olduvai Lithic Industry
News | Mar 31, 2022
-
Roman Theater Unearthed After 1,700 Years Near Western Wall In Jerusalem
Archaeology | Oct 19, 2017
-
On This Day In History: Battle Of Dormans Was Fought – On October 10, 1575
News | Oct 10, 2016