Granite giants
The HinduThese three temples — built over different periods by a king, his son, and his grandson — are considered some of Tamil Nadu’s greatest architectural and engineering marvels. We’re talking about the Great Living Chola Temples: the Brihadeshwara Temple, Gangaikonda Cholapuram and the Airavateswara temple in Darasuram built by Rajaraja Chola, Rajendra Chola and Raja Raja II respectively. Called a ‘carpentry joint’, dry stone masonry is used in many historical buildings rather than cement or concrete to bind the different blocks together. Some say elephants hauled the blocks through a four km-long ramp, others say a winding ramp was built around the tower. Brihadeshwara temple is also known as Rajarajeshwaram, Peruvudaiyar Kovil, Thanjai Periya Kovil, or simply Big Temple, for it remains today one of the biggest temples in south India.
History of this topic
Review of The Three Great Living Temples, World Heritage Landmarks: Breathing life into stone
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