Most of the ancient temples all across India are standing erect and strong for centuries. The most notable marvel of India was built with the intent to enshrine the image of the deity. One of the common things these seven temples share is their building material. Architects of all of these temples have used clay bricks in construction.

Clay bricks are one of the oldest and most durable building material of human civilization since centuries. Clay bricks were found as building material at most ancient shrines and archaeological sites in India. Pre-Cristian sites of Buddhist period can still be found having clay bricks at places like Sarnath near Varanasi as also at Shravasti and Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh.

Look at the seven ancient temples of India made of clay:

1. Gangaikonda Cholapuram

Location: Ariyalur District, Tamilnadu

Year of Construction: construction started in 1020 and completed in nine years.

Image Source: indiamike.com

This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple was constructed by a Chola king, Rajendra Chola, son of Rajaraja Chola. The temple is made of fairly large bricks made of burnt clay.

2. Sarnath temple

Location: near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

Year of construction: In 1922

Image Source: trekearth

Sarnath is one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage centres of India. The construction material used in building this temple consists of shells. The shell consists of concentric rings of brickwork laid in clay and faced in plaster

3. Jor-Bangla Temple

  Location: Bishnupur, Bankura District, West Bengal

  Year of Construction: 1655 AD

Image Source: harekrsna

Jor Bangla also known as Char Chala or Yorubanglan is a temple which resembles styles of two structures. One of a traditional village mud huts of the region and the other style is similar to that of a Shrine. It was constructed by King Raghunath Malla Dev (Raghnath Singha 1)

4.  The Shyam Rai Temple

Location: Bishnupur, Bankura district, Bengal

Year of construction: 1643

Image Source: staticpanoramio

The Shyam Rai temple has a strong intensity even when it was built centuries ago. The material used consists of clay bricks. It was built by King Raghunatha Singh in honour of Lord Vishnu’s form, Lord Krishna.

5. Dutta Para Nabaratna  Temple

Location: Joypur, Bishnupur

Year of construction: 18th – 19th century

                                                                                   Image Source: blogspot

The architecture of this temple includes clay brick. It is a terra Cotta temple. Dutta Para Nabaratna Temple is an age old temple which has rich terra cotta carvings on it, adding to its beauty.

6. Rashmancha Temple

Location: Bishnupur, Bankura, West Bengal

Year of Construction: 18th – 19th century

                                                                                 Image Source: indiam

The Rashmancha temple is to put idols of the deity Krishna during the festival Rash. It was built by King Veer Hambir in 1600 AD. Since, good quality clay is simply available in the local market in ample amount, it was used to make bricks and terracotta plaques. These were used in the construction of the temple and decorative images.

7. Gokulchand Temple

Location: Gokulnagar, Bengal

Year of Construction: 1643

                                                                     Image Source- harekrsna.com

Due to the shortage in supply of stone in the vast floodplains of Bengal, the architects had to look for another substitute. Since the clay was effortlessly available, the burnt clay bricks soon became a good substitute. This gave birth to a new form of temple architecture. It helped in the construction of an elaborately decorated terracotta temple. This temple was constructed by Malla king, Raghunath Simha I.

The method of constructing temples using material involving is ancient and durable in comparison to the modern technology involving clay-bricks, cement and mortar used to construct edifices. The everyday hassles of life and natural calamities have made one, unsure about the intensity of construction material used in building the house or apartment. With the pace of life he can take into account only the usual construction material used and have fixed durability. On the other hand, one can see the historical temples which were built decades or centuries ago, standing erect without much of difference to them in hard times as well. 

Authored by a Building Expert from Wienerberger India

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