Preview

India's Charaideo Moidam royal burial mounds designated World Heritage Site

Please log in to download this media. Not registered? Register now!

Metadata

India's Charaideo Moidam royal burial mounds designated World Heritage Site
July 28, 2024
Article Body Text NEW DELHI — The Charaideo Moidam royal burial complex and shrines, built by northeast India's Ahom dynasty, has been inscribed as a new World Heritage Site, the United Nations' cultural agency said on Friday. UNESCO experts, who are deliberating on a list of sites nominated for the World Heritage Site tag, announced the decision in Indian capital New Delhi, where they are holding their 46th session. The Charaideo Moidams, located in Assam state, are a mound burial system that served as a resting place for Ahom kings and queens. They were constructed by providing an earth cover over a hollow vault made of bricks, stone or earth. The designated site contains 90 modiams of different sizes, which were created over a period of 600 years, and include other cultural features like ceremonial pathways and bodies of water, said a spokesperson from ICOMOS, the advisory body of the World Heritage Committee. "The moidams are an exceptional example of an Ahom necropolis that represents funeral traditions and associated beliefs in a tangible way," they said. <figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-9200-08dcadda5d3e_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>FILE - The Charaideo Moidam royal burial complex, built by northeast India's Ahom dynasty and photographed Sept. 27, 2022, has been inscribed as a new World Heritage Site, the United Nations' cultural agency said on July 26, 2024.</figcaption></figure> The Ahom clan established their capital in different parts of the Brahmaputra River Valley between the 12th to 18th century, after migrating from China, according to the U.N. cultural agency's website. They established the first capital at the Patkai hills in eastern India and named it Charaideo, which means "a dazzling city above the mountain" in their language. Even though the clan moved across cities, the burial site they built was seen as the most sacred place for the departed souls of the royals. Experts say the shrines showcase the architecture and expertise of Assam's masons, comparing them to the royal tombs of China and the pyramids of the Egyptian Pharaohs. The site has the largest concentration of these vaulted mound burials, according to UNESCO, and reflects the sculpted landscape of the surrounding hills. <figure><img src="https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-a1e4-08dcadda592d_w1600_r0_n_s.jpg" /><figcaption>FILE - A view of the Moidams burial mounds in Charaideo, in upper Assam, India, Sept 27, 2022.</figcaption></figure> India is now home to 43 World Heritage Sites. Other sites inscribed on Friday included the Colonies of the Moravian Church in Germany, the U.S. and U.K.; the Umm Al-Jimal in Jordan and the Badain Jaran Desert in China. The committee also inscribed the Monastery of Saint Hilarion, in the archeological site of Tell Umm Amer in the Gaza Strip, on both the World Heritage List and on the List of World Heritage in Danger. It said the decision recognized the site's value and the need to protect it given threats posed by the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Content Type Text
Language English
NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Subtitles / Dubbing Available No
Network VOA
Embargo Date July 28, 2024 03:12 EDT
Byline Associated Press
Brand / Language Service Voice of America - English