8/8/2019 Why Borobudur

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Why Paharpur?

This World Heritage monument is accessible, substantially complete, and the object of scholarly,

religious and tourist interest

This shrine is most mature cruciform in Bengal.

Different websites and publications contain large number of photographs and other information

Regular and systematic excavation was jointly started in 1923 continues till today.

Scholars have proposed as many as 5 different virtual reconstructions for this shrine.

8/8/2019 Why Borobudur

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Why Paharpur?

The selection of Paharpur as a suitable subject arose from several circumstances:

This World Heritage monument is accessible, substantially complete, and the object of scholarly,

religious and tourist interest; Borobudur is the largest man-made monument in this class in Bengal.

Paharpur have most mature cruciform shrine in Bengal.

Different websites and publications contain large number of photographs of Paharpur and all its

reliefs, including those of the Hidden Basement.

The site was first noticed by Buchanon Hamilton between 1807 and 1812. It was next visited by

Westmacott. Sir Alexander Cunningham visited the place in 1879. Regular and systematic excavation

was jointly started in 1923 by Archaeological Survey of India, Varendra research society of Rajshahiand Calcutta University. Excavation continues till today.

Scholars have proposed as many as 5 different virtual reconstructions for this shrine.

8/8/2019 Why Borobudur

3/3

Why Borobudur?

The selection of Borobudur as a suitable subject arose from several circumstances:

This World Heritage monument is accessible, substantially complete, and the object of scholarly,

religious and tourist interest; Borobudur is the largest man-made monument in this class near to

Australia;

The restoration campaign conducted by Theodoor van Erp generated publications containing large

monochrome photographs of Borobudur and all its reliefs, including those of the Hidden Basement

(the majority subsequently covered up again);

The volcanic stone of Borobudur is dark-grey and porous (it was probably covered with plaster and

then painted), so a project focusing on over 3,000 monochrome images is possible and reasonable:

any colour now to be found on the monument is due to mosses and lichens, themselves the result of

the tropical climate.

There are few monuments which have been as comprehensively photographed as Borobudur (and

long enough ago for the images to be out of copyright); and the full suite of photos of the Hidden

Basement, not to mention the very complexity of the monument, provides a good target for VRML

and the HTML extensions. For example, whilst no computer simulation can substitute for a visit to

the monument itself, our VRML model provides an opportunity to examine the whole monument, or

any of its details, at leisure, and also allows the user to call up relevant text, comparative

monuments, etc. to fill out the study.