Geological dimension of the cultural heritage: A case example of the Ajanta Caves (Maharashtra, India)

Abstract

International development for the both geoconservation and geotourism requires attention to all kinds of (potential) geological heritage. The Ajanta Caves (western Maharashtra, India) is a famous cultural object consisting of 30 caves carved in the Deccan Traps and inscribed to the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites. Its examination permits to indicate four geological features, which are the artificial caves themselves (these mark geological activity of the man in the historical past), the end-Cretaceous floot basalts (these demonstrate the emplacement of Large Igneous Province and the relevant palaeoenvironmental catastrophe), the gorge of the Waghora River (this is peculiar landform resulted from the river erosion of hard rocks), and the rockfall hazard (this is an interesting engineering geological phenomenon linked to the caves construction/maintenance). Geological heritage value of these features is argued. Unfortunately, there is not any geotourism activity at the Ajanta Caves presently. The content analysis of the principal on-line resources (web pages) devoted to this cultural site reveals the absence of sufficient geological information that would facilitate geotourism. Generally, judgements about the Ajanta Caves and the other similar sites in the geological dimension permit to consider the wide spectrum of the geological heritage. They also highlight some extra opportunities for geotourism, which can benefit by its development at cultural sites with thousands of visitors.