The temple:
The Shore Temple (c. 725 AD) is a complex of temples and shrines that overlooks the shore of the Bay of Bengal. At the time of its creation, the site was a busy port during the reign of Narasimhavarman II of the Indian Pallava dynasty. As one of the Group of monuments at Mahabalipuram, it has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984. It is one of the oldest structural stone temples of Southern India. (Wikipedia)
The Pallava-Dynasty which reigned this area from the 6th to the 8th century AC, created this majestic complex built in the Dravidian style temple architecture from local granite. It is a 5-story building situated in the manner so that the first rays of sunshine fall on the present deity of the temple - Shiva. These majestic buildings witness the high quality of craftsmanship in the region in the 6th century AC. This is a beautiful temple with an extraordinary outlook from the hill onto the shore.
Seafarers such as Marco Polo and European merchants sailing to this city called Mahabalipuram the city of the 7 pagodas. Long time it was assumed that the other six pagodas were temples or towers within the city. After the Tsunami of 2004 rests of temples and carved blocks were found along the shore and there is a archeaological site exploring if the other 6 pagodas existed and were submerged in the sea.
Shore temple is a five-story rock-cut temple build partly from an outcrop of granite on the spot of different colors and.medium grain – called ‚garnetiforous hornblende biotide granite‘. Other rocks came from quarries of other granites in the region, thus granitic stone of different compositions, colors and textures.
Marine salts and sand-laden winds are the main source of detereoration of Shore Temple.
The cache:
This earthcache is to learn about weathering versus erosion:
Weathering is the process in which rocks change under the influence of different factors:- water, wind, ice, temperature or plant intrusion. On the other hand erosion is the process of movement of particles due to weathering.
Weathering is the desolution of rocks and minerals on the earth surface by different influences. These are:
- Mechanical weathering
- weathering caused through physical processes such as temperatures, water / ice, the influence of plants, changing temperatures. E.g.: frost splitting where water freezes in gaps and thus breaks the rocks
- salt weathering is an important part of mechanical weathering that may accelerate the detereoration processs of stone in marine environments, especially when added to high precipitation and high humidity. Salt weathering can also create intense alveolarization (appearing as holes in certain patterns) also called honeycomb weathering. Salt weathering is the process of salt being transported to the surface of porous materials, creating hygrig expansion The mechanical effect starts with the crystallization pressure which is the mechanism through which damage develops. Salt weathering thus refers to weathering generated by soluble and insoluble salts in the material.
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- Chemical weathering:
- weathering which is caused by chemical reactions such as dissolution of rocks through the influence of acids or oxidation. E.g: the dissolution of limestone through acid rain, or the decay of plant material which affects the rock.
Erosion on the other hand is defined as transport/deslocation of (weathered) material caused by wind, water, (glacial) ice or gravity.
To log this EC as found your have to answer the following questions and send the answers to us before by mail:
1. What naturally occurring material is the Shore Temple made of?
2. Look around closely: what kind of weathering signs can you see? Describe what you found.
3. In which parts of the temple (eg.; in 5m height - South wall) did you observe this? Try to explain your findings?
4. What kind of weathering is going on here?
5. Take a photo of you or your nick on a card showing one of the carved nandis/bulls (see photo) and some recognizable part of the shore temple in the back and attach it to your log (geocaching regulations allow to ask for a photo as condition to log). Send me your answers by mail before. If there is something wrong with your answers I will get back to you.
(Open daily from 6-18 o'clock - 600 INR for all sites in Mahabalipuram