Sigiriya Frescoes : 無料・フリー素材/写真
Sigiriya Frescoes / hugh llewelyn
| ライセンス | クリエイティブ・コモンズ 表示-継承 2.1 |
|---|---|
| 説明 | Sigiriya, Central Province, Sri Lanka, December 2021. Geomorphologically a volcanic plug, Sigiriya (‘Lion Rock’) was chosen by the usurper King Kashyapa in 477 AD as the site of his pleasure palace and fortress-city to serve as his new capital of the Kingdom of Anuradhapura. An illegitimate son of King Dhatusena, Kashyapa walled-up his father alive so he could gain the throne and forced his half-brother and rightful heir Mogallana to flee to South India. Fearing Mogallana’s return, Kashyapa decided to build a formidable fortress-palace on what he thought would be an invulnerable site, constructing cisterns/reservoirs to ensure a supply of fresh water.Kashyapa’s fears were confirmed when a vengeful Mogallana returned with a besieging army in 495. Foolishly, Kashyapa decided to meet Mogallana on the surrounding plain where confusion resulted in his army abandoning Kashyapa, who then committed suicide by falling on his sword. Mogallana, as the rightful King, made Anuradhapura his capital again and Sigiraya was converted into a monastery until the 14th Century. It was then abandoned, fell into ruin and became overgrown. The existence of the rock was discovered by the British in 1831 although it was only in the 1890’s that it was realised that it was an important archaeological site and work began on it. Pictured are some of the few surviving frescoes which once numbered over 500 and covered the western face of the rock (King Kashyapa liked the ladies, it seems). Most were lost through weathering of the exposed face but some, beneath overhangs, were sheltered and survived. They are a unique variant of the Anuradhapura style. They can now be accessed by a tiny spiral metal staircase leading to a small, very narrow metal platform cantilevered out from the rock face. An alternative version of Kashyapa's death was that, far from bravely falling on his sword after defeat in battle, one of his concubines poisoned him. |
| 撮影日 | 2012-09-01 10:59:00 |
| 撮影者 | hugh llewelyn , Keynsham, UK |
| タグ | |
| 撮影地 | Dambulla, Central Province, Sri Lanka 地図 |
| カメラ | PDF-S 240 SE , Rollei |
| 露出 | 0.091 sec (1/11) |
| 開放F値 | f/0 |