Ancient towers of China, about which nothing is known for a thousand years (5 photos)

Dozens of stone towers are scattered at the foot of the Himalayas. They are here have been standing for many centuries, but no one knows who and when built them.





For the title of the most ancient skyscrapers with them, they may well compete with the towers in Sichuan: they are also very ancient, and their height is about 60 meters.

Mysterious buildings of the Himalayas

These structures are unique, they are scattered across the foothills Himalayas. Some of the towers are located in the villages, and the locals converted these ancient structures into stables and sheds, where now keep their livestock. Other towers are abandoned, destroyed, they don't even have roofs, and getting inside is almost impossible. Although the towers are several centuries old, for the first time they were talked about only in 1998. Then the French researcher Frederic Darragon (Frederique Darragon went to the Chinese mountains to study snow leopards, but her attention was drawn to dozens of stone towers in local villages. Certainly, First of all, she was impressed by the fact that no one knew what these structures were built.



As a result, Frederick studied these unique structures for five years. She plotted them on a map, counted, analyzed the construction material

and even climbed the towers, which did not represent a special danger. A French woman tried to find information about the Himalayan skyscrapers, but the locals did not know anything about them: according to them, they have always been here. Then the researcher went to the Buddhist monasteries to study local texts, but also could not do anything find.





Frederic managed to find mention of the Himalayan towers only in several Chinese chronicles. Also information about buildings preserved in the records of European travelers who visited these parts in the 19th century. So why is nothing known about these towers?

A mystery yet to be revealed

Most likely, no one knows anything about the towers, because so developed historically. The fact is that in the foothills of the Himalayas for centuries lived tribes that were isolated from each other. They were so disunited that even their languages and dialects evolved apart. So, people living next to each other, and today can not understand the language of their neighbors. Perhaps there was once a legend about Himalayan towers, but they were transmitted orally, and over time this tradition has been lost.



Himalayan towers are also unique in that they stood century, despite the fact that in this region there are often earthquakes. The reason for this durability is their composition. Frederick analyzed what these structures are made of: they are mixture of stone, brick and wood. They are different in form: square, polygonal, and even star-shaped with 12 vertices. Wood that medieval builders added to stone and brick allows the structure to be more flexible and resistant to underground shocks.

Why is it important to be on the UNESCO list?

Darragon also determined the age of the towers: they are from 600 to 1000 years old. However, some structures may be even older by several centuries. Also, the Frenchwoman has a version for which they could be built. Some towers became a symbol of wealth. In one of the villages she heard a story that these "skyscrapers" were once built by wealthy residents villages that traded with China.



Other towers were probably watchtowers: they stand next to important trade routes, and the entrance to them is located at a height of several meters. Now Frederick is trying to add these structures to the List of objects UNESCO World Heritage Site. If she succeeds, then the towers will fall under protection, and the destroyed buildings will be restored.