Conservation of Buddhist temples in the Western Himalaya

The ancient temples and monasteries of the Western Himalaya, which were built around
the 10th century A.D., are an important part of the cultural heritage of the mountainous
borderland between India and China. These buildings provide crucial evidence for the
analysis of the Buddhist sacred architecture – a topic that until today has been scarcely
recognized by architectural research. Conserving knowledge about the buildings is a race
against time, as they are constantly threatened by environmental circumstances and
human interventions. Of major importance is thus the surveying and documentation of the
buildings, which leads to data that can be analysed and in return used for the
development of sensible and sustainable preservation methods.