Images

Carpet mosaic uncovered in the Masada fortress complex, dating to the reign of King Herod the Great (37 BCE to 4 CE).

Qumran was mainly occupied during the Greco-Roman period (c. 150 BCE-68 CE) by a community generally identified as the Essenes, a religious sect, which lived in isolation in this region west of the Dead Sea. The cave and a series of scrolls...

A diagram illustrating the principal features of Hindu temples. This example is the Kandariya Mahadeo temple at Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, India, c. 1025 CE.

Sirkap was the second most important site of ancient Gandhara in Punjab-Pakistan. The city was established by a Greco-Bactrian ruler in the 2nd century BCE and lost its importance when Kushan rulers built another city named Sirsukh. One may...

Mithuna Figures, Kandariya Mahadeo temple, Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, India. From the south wall of the antarala, c. 1025 CE.

The Jain Parsvanatha Temple, Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, India. 950-970 CE.

The Kandariya Mahadeo temple, Khajuraho, India. Dedicated to Shiva c. 1025 CE.

A ceiling slab from a temple in Aihole, Karnataka, India depicting Brahma. 7th century CE. (Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, Mumbai)

The 6th-7th century CE sandstone Gaudargudi Temple, Aihole, Karnataka, India. An inscription indicates that the temple was dedicated to Durga.

A sculpted sandstone panel from the 8th century CE Durga Temple, Aihole, Kamataka, India. Depicted are Shiva and Nandi.