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BHUBANESWAR,INDIA, December 12, 2018 (RNS) Brigitte Viollet,
a French businesswoman, spends three months of every year in thecompany of the Sun Temple in Konark, an ancient settlement on theeast coast of India. Built in the 13th century by King NarasinghaDeva I, the Sun Temple was designed as a colossal chariot mountedon 12 pairs of ornamented wheels to honor the Hindu God of the sun,Surya. Seven horses pull the chariot eastward toward dawn,symbolizing the seven days of the week. The spokes of the wheelsmake a sundial that helped ancient sages calculate time. “Thescientific spirit and aesthetic sensibilities of ancient India areunmatched,” said Viollet, who is one of some 50,000 visitors thetemple draws every year.But to the dismay of many who treasure the monument, a UNESCO WorldHeritage Site since 1984, the intricate stone carvings of deitiesand celestial beasts that cover the Sun Temple’s outer surface arebeing replaced by plain blocks of stone in an attempt to shore upthe building. Many more have allegedly been discarded and strewnaround the protected site. Conservation efforts began at Konark inthe early 20th century, when British Indian archaeologists firstrecognized its worth. Later, fearing a structural collapse, theBritish teams filled the temple’s main audience hall with sand. Aslong ago as 1937, when the Archaeological Survey of India tookcharge of the project, removing the sand became the focus ofrestoration plans, but little was done. By 2010, at aninternational conference in Konark attended by UNESCO delegates,the ASI’s lack of action brought rebuke from conservationists.Consequently, a steering committee was formed to accelerate sandremoval and sculpted stones’ treatment.
More of this article and some nice photos at “source”.