Ancient monuments of rock-cut architecture are widespread in several regions of world. A small number of
Neolithic tombs in Europe, such as the
Dwarfie Stane on the Orkney island of Hoy, were cut directly from the rock, rather than constructed from stone blocks. Alteration of naturally formed caverns, although distinct from completely carved structures in the strict sense, date back to the Neolithic period on several Mediterranean islands e.g.
Malta (
Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni),
Sardinia (Anghelu Ruju, built between 3,000 and 1,500 BCE) and others. During the
Bronze Age,
Nubian ancestors of the
Kingdom of Kush built speos between 3700 and 3250 BCE. This greatly influenced the architecture of the
New kingdom. Large-scale rock-cut structures were built in
Ancient Egypt. Among these monuments was the Great Temple of
Ramesses II, known as
Abu Simbel, located along the Nile in
Nubia, near the borders of
Sudan about 300 kilometers from
Aswan in
Egypt. It dates from about the
19th Dynasty (ca. 1280 BCE), and consists of a monumentally scaled facade carved out of the cliff and a set of interior chambers that form its sanctuary. In the 8th century, the
Phrygians started some of the earliest rock-cut monuments, such as the
Midas monument (700 BCE), dedicated to the famous Phrygian king
Midas. In the 5th century BCE, the
Lycians, who inhabited southern Anatolia (now
Turkey) built hundreds of
rock-cut tombs of a similar type, but smaller in scale. Excellent examples are to be found near
Dalyan, a town in Muğla Province, along the sheer cliffs that faces a river. Since these served as tombs rather than as religious sites, the interiors were usually small and unassuming. The ancient
Etruscans of central Italy also left an important legacy of rock-cut architecture, mostly tombs, as those near the cities of
Tarquinia and
Vulci. The creation of
rock-cut tombs in ancient Israel began in the 8th-century BCE and continued through the Byzantine period. The
Tomb of Absalom was constructed in the 1st century CE in the
Kidron Valley of
Jerusalem. , one of the first rock-cut caves in
India, 250 BCE. Rock-cut architecture occupies a particularly important place in the history of Indian Architecture. The earliest instances of
Indian rock-cut architecture, the
Barabar caves, date from about the 3rd to the 2nd century BCE. They were built by the
Buddhist monks and consisted mostly of multi-storey buildings carved into the mountain face to contain living and sleeping quarters, kitchens, and monastic spaces. Some of these monastic caves had shrines in them to the Buddha, bodhisattvas and saints. As time progressed, the interiors became more elaborate and systematized; surfaces were often decorated with paintings, such as those at
Ajanta. At the beginning of the 7th century
Hindu rock-cut temples began to be constructed at Ellora. Unlike most previous examples of rock-cut architecture which consisted of a facade plus an interior, these temples were complete three-dimensional buildings created by carving away the hillside. They required several generations of planning and coordination to complete. Other major examples of rock-cut architecture in India are at
Ajanta and
Pataleshwar. or the Treasury at Petra Artisans in the
Nabataean city of
Petra, in modern
Jordan, extended the Western Asian tradition, carving their temples and tombs into the yellowish-orange rock that defines the canyons and gullies of the region. These structures, dating from 1st century BCE to about 2nd century CE, are particularly important in the history of architecture given their experimental forms. Here too, because the structures served as tombs, the interiors were rather perfunctory. In Petra one even finds a theater where the seats are cut out of the rock. The technological skills associated with making these complex structures moved into China along the trade routes. The
Longmen Grottoes, the
Mogao Caves, and the
Yungang Grottoes consist of hundreds of caves many with statues of Buddha in them. Most were built between 460 and 525 CE. There are extensive rock-cut buildings, including houses and churches in
Cappadocia, Turkey. They were built over a span of hundreds of years prior to the 5th century CE. Emphasis here was more on the interiors than the exteriors. monastery, 13th century. Another extensive site of rock-cut architecture is in
Lalibela, a town in northern
Ethiopia. The area contains numerous
Orthodox churches in three dimensions, as at Ellora, that were carved out of the rock. These structures, which date from the 12th and 13th centuries CE and which are the last significant examples of this architectural form, ranks as among the most magnificent examples of rock-cut architecture in the world, with both interior and exterior brought to fruition. Image:MidasSehri.Tomb.jpg|The
Midas Monument, a
Phrygian rock-cut tomb dedicated to
Midas, 700 BCE. File:Tomb of Avshalom in the Kidron Valley;.jpg|The
Tomb of Absalom (
Kidron Valley), with
rock-cut lower half File:Longmen-grottoes-longmen-mountain-from-a-distance.jpg|Mount Longmen as seen from Manshui Bridge to the southeast. ==Art ==