🇨🇳 China · Rock-cut
Longmen Binyang Central Cave — Mt Long Gate Middle Grotto Sanctuary
Northern Wei to Tang (493 – 750 CE) · Buddhist imperial Luoyang under Empress Dowager Hu
Central Binyang 11 m Buddha of Northern Wei Emperor Xuanwu at Yi Gorge.
🇵🇪 Peru · Rock-cut
Pukara Sun Temple West
Early Bronze Age (3000–2000 BCE) · Classical
Pukara Sun Temple West in Cusco, Peru is a Early Bronze Age (3000–2000 BCE) rock_cut attributed to Classical culture.
🇹🇷 Turkey · Rock-cut
Myra Rock-Tombs Northern Necropolis — Demre Extension
Lycian (5th–4th c. BCE) then Roman · Lycian (Xanthian) Greek
Myra Rock-Tombs Northern Necropolis — Demre Extension in Antalya Province, Turkey is a Lycian (5th–4th c. BCE) then Roman rock_cut attributed to Lycian (Xanthian) Greek.
🇮🇳 India · Rock-cut
Pitalkhora Caves — Aurangabad Basalt Vihara
Satavahana (200 BCE–300 CE) · Buddhist Hinayana and Mahayana
Pitalkhora Caves — Aurangabad Basalt Vihara in Maharashtra, India is a Satavahana (200 BCE–300 CE) rock_cut attributed to Buddhist Hinayana and Mahayana.
🇮🇳 India · Rock-cut
Kailasa North Mandapa — Ellora Cliff Terrace
Rashtrakuta (756–773 CE Krishna I) · Hindu Shaivite
Kailasa North Mandapa — Ellora Cliff Terrace in Maharashtra, India is a Rashtrakuta (756–773 CE Krishna I) rock_cut attributed to Hindu Shaivite.
🇮🇳 India · Rock-cut
Jogeshwari Caves — Mumbai Cave Temple
Kalachuri (520–550 CE) · Shaivite Hindu
Jogeshwari Caves — Mumbai Cave Temple in Maharashtra, India is a Kalachuri (520–550 CE) rock_cut attributed to Shaivite Hindu.
🇮🇳 India · Rock-cut
Badami Cave Temples
Early Chalukya, 6th–7th century CE · Hindu and Jain under Early Chalukya dynasty
Four 6th-c. Chalukya sandstone cave temples at Vatapi with Nataraja and Vishnu iconography.
🇮🇳 India · Rock-cut
Ambivali Caves — Kalyan Hinterland
Early Historic (100 BCE–500 CE) · Buddhist
Ambivali Caves — Kalyan Hinterland in Maharashtra, India is a Early Historic (100 BCE–500 CE) rock_cut attributed to Buddhist. Small Buddhist cave cluster near Ulhas river with 2 viharas and chaitya.
🇯🇴 Jordan · Ancient city
Petra
Nabataean to Roman (312 BCE–363 CE earthquake) · Nabataean / Arab
Nabataean caravan city (312 BCE–106 CE) carved into sandstone cliffs: Al-Khazneh Treasury, Theatre, Monastery Ad-Deir, Royal Tombs, and hydraulic system capturing desert flash floods.
🇵🇪 Peru · Rock-cut
Ventanillas de Otuzco
Early Horizon to Cajamarca (700 BCE – 800 CE) · Cajamarca / Wari
Ventanillas de Otuzco in Cajamarca, Peru is a Early Horizon to Cajamarca (700 BCE – 800 CE) rock_cut attributed to Cajamarca / Wari culture.
🇹🇷 Turkey · Temple complex
Ayanis
Late Urartian Kingdom (early 7th century BCE) · Urartian (Biainili) late imperial
Rusa II's earthquake-collapsed Haldi temple-fortress with 4,000 bronze votives frozen mid-repair.
🇧🇬 Bulgaria · Archaeological wonder
Perperikon Thracian Rock City
Chalcolithic to Late Antiquity (5000 BCE – 400 CE; rock city peak 1500–500 BCE) · Thracian (Bessi tribe) to Roman and Byzantine
Rocky massif on the Perperek gold–bearing ridge where Thracians carved a palace-temple complex into the living rock: hall of prophecies claimed as the sanctuary of Dionysus visited by Alexander…
🇨🇳 China · Rock-cut
Tiantishan Grottoes
Sixteen Kingdoms Northern Liang 412–439 · Northern Liang Buddhist (Xiongnu–Han)
Hexi Corridor prototype grottoes where Northern Liang Buddhism seeded Yungang's later scheme.
🇮🇳 India · Rock-cut
Bedse Caves — Maval Hinayana Pair
Satavahana (100 BCE) · Buddhist Hinayana
Bedse Caves — Maval Hinayana Pair in Maharashtra, India is a Satavahana (100 BCE) rock_cut attributed to Buddhist Hinayana.
