Ancient Archeology: Barabar Caves, Jehanabad district, Bihar, India Raghavan How to possible almost 1800 year old rock cut made ? Any technology ? This is Lomas Rishi Cave, one of several man-made Barabar Caves. The Barabar Hill Caves (Hindi बराबर, Barābar) are the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India, dating from the Maurya Empire (322–185 BCE), some with Ashokan inscriptions, located in the Makhdumpur region of Jehanabad district, Bihar, India, 24 km (15 mi) north of Gaya. The cave of Lomas Rishi is probably the most famous of the caves of Barabar, because of its beautifully carved door. It is on the southern side of Barabar granite hill, and is adjacent to Sudama cave, which is on the left. Lomas Rishi consists of two rooms: a rectangular room measuring 9.86x5.18m, and a circular, semi- hemispherical room 5m in diameter, which is accessed from the rectangular room by a narrow rectangular passage. A TO Z INDIA ● FEBRUARY 2022 ● PAGE 12