Early Buddhist Architecture in the Western Himalaya

While the previous two projects focused on the documentation and the preparation of plans, the presently proposed project will focus on the publication of the collected material. The main goal is to develop a typology of the early Buddhist sacred architecture in the Western Himalayas from the 10th to the 14th century. Considering the present material, the study will emphasise on the monuments in the regions of Ladakh and Lahaul-Spiti, but will also take the wider western Himalayan region and the regional architectural successors, in particular the monuments of the later Guge kingdom, into account. Next to the general architectural typology the study will consider more detailed aspects such as form, size, construction technique, configuration of spaces and orientation. In addition to working out the different types of the single structures themselves, the study will also consider the topographic environment and principal function of the building. Major types in this regard are monastic complexes located in the plain of the valley, cave monuments, village temples and temples and monasteries in the location of fortresses. The final typology will be based on detailed and comprehensive interdisciplinary studies of key monuments and complexes in the form of monographs, of which the first is already under preparation. When analysing the monuments special emphasis will be put on the exploration of the proportional systems used and their underlying principles. Considering the cultural and historical context of the earliest monuments under consideration, it is to be expected that they are based on underlying (North-) Indian proportional principles of geometries and spatial relationships (compare the proportional systems used for the Tabo clay sculptures in Luczanits 2004), which can be compared to those used in European sacral mediaeval architecture. An important element to be considered is, whether these Buddhist buildings follow the proportional principles found with earlier and contemporary Hindu monuments in India, or whether their proportional system has been modified in accordance with specifically Buddhist conceptions of space and cosmos (see e.g. Bafna 2000 or Meister 1979). A further element for consideration will be whether there is any proportional concordance between the architecture of a temple and its decoration, in particular the dimensions of the images and the spatial division of the paintings. The suggested analyses cannot be done without following the historical development of a monument or complex in form of historical-layer-plans since the buildings may have changed considerably over time. Both the state of the building at a given historic period and the proportional system underlying the building will be reconstructed and shown in the form of three-dimensional models. Finally, to contribute to the preservation of this extremley valuable cultural heritage, the analysis will also focus on the assessment and presentation of a buildings present condition. Based on the assessment, various methods of historic preservation will be worked out that also take the regional social, cultural and religious circumstances into account.

The existing data material, which has been collected in previous projects supported by the FWF, has been complemented and revised during the field research in Western Tibet, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh. After years of vain efforts it was gratifying to get finally permission for the field research to Western Tibet to measure most buildings in Tholing (Red and White Temple, Mandala Temple, Golden Temple) and Tsaparang. They are considered as prototypes for the early Buddhist architecture in the Western Himalaya (kingdom of Guge 10th-14th century). After lengthy negotiations it was also possible to measure the hole monastery complex in Alchi and the temples of Mangyu and Sumda Chung in the region of Ladakh, so plan material of excellent quality is present now. Due to this additional surveys the spatial connections can be seized and it arise exact explanations about the constructive principles, loads, thickness of walls and ceilings. Damages have been documented spatially and due to the merging of the interior and the exterior it is possible to draw conclusions on the correlation of edificial damages and construction principles. Hence it is possible to investigate the proportional principles in detail which had assumedly been used as geometrical planning system. The opportunity of the field studies were used to document numerous, complementary, smaller constructions for a comprehensive publication of the early Buddhist architecture in the Western Himalaya. It was mainly the temple ruins around Tikse monastery, a temple ruin in Sumda Chen and Chorten in Alchi and Wanla. Additionally also a Stupa in Changspa near Leh could have been measured. The 2d-plans and a 3d-model are already present. The elaboration of the data is permanently completed and regularly published on the newly arranged homepage under http://www.archresearch.tugraz.at. Although proceedings are achieved, data of the field research is still waiting for their evaluation. However after the completion of the evaluation the best requirements for a single comprehensive publication of the early Buddhist architecture in the Western Himalaya is established. A first monograph about the three-storeyed temple of Wanla has been finalized and is ready for printing. The principal goal of the architectural research is the development of a methodology for the conservation of monastic Buddhist buildings. Most of the monastic buildings in the Western Himalaya are in an ever-deteriorating condition. Finally, the sustainable use of the religious monuments can be seen as the best guarantee for socio-cultural continuity and the conservation of the cultural heritage as a whole. In close collaboration with the Achi Association constitute the results of the scientific research the basic principles for the building conservation.