The mysterious Barabar Caves in India

On the territory of the Indian state of Bihar, there is the Barabar rock ridge, in which the oldest man–made caves in India, which are called Barabar Caves, are cut down. Their construction is dated presumably to the 3rd century BC. There are 4 caves on the territory of the complex, similar in internal structure and with an ordinary trapezoidal entrance. The light penetrates only through the entrance, so the rooms are quite dark.

Each Barabar cave has its own name:

• Karan Chaupar is a rectangular room with perfectly polished walls.
• Sudama is a rectangular room connected by a passage to a second round room, the walls are polished.
• Lomas Rishi – has a carved architrave at the entrance, also two rooms are rectangular and a small round one, but the walls and vault are not polished.
• Vishwajopri – only the entrance is decorated, the interior is partially cut down.

Inside, the rooms have approximately the same size, shape and high vaulted ceiling. The Barabar caves are completely empty, without any inscriptions, decorations or other traces of cultural significance. Only a few carved inscriptions on the entrances and the carved entrance of the Lomas Rishi cave allowed these buildings to be attributed to the 3rd century BC – the period of the Mauryan Empire. Although this carved entrance looks like a separate element, as if someone decided to decorate something that originally did not require any beauty, and for some reason used another, more crude processing technology.

The uniqueness of the Barabar caves lies in the perfectly smooth polishing of walls, floors and vaults to a mirror shine, as well as in unusual acoustic parameters. The shape of the rooms themselves and their vaults creates a special sound and reverberation. Spoken words break up into sounds and transform into some new, not quite clear, but voluminous and enveloping sound from all sides.