The announcement was made during the ongoing 46th session of the World Heritage Committee at New Delhi.
- India is hosting its first ever session since joining the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Heritage Convention of 1972.
- After Kaziranga and Manas National Parks, it is Assam’s third World Heritage site and first in the cultural category.
- India stands at the 6th position globally for the most number of World Heritage Properties.
Ahom ‘Moidams’
- Situated in Assam’s Charaideo district, they are the burial grounds of rulers of Ahom king and Queen, and are often compared to pyramids of Egypt.
- In the 13th century, Chau-lung Siu-ka-pha, the founder of Ahom kingdom, established his first capital at Che-rai-doi or Charaideo (at the foothill of Patkai hills).
Architectural features:
- Exterior of Moidams is hemispherical and their sizes vary depending upon the power and status of the person buried.
- Moidam consists of three major features:
- A Vaulted Chamber with a centrally raised platform where the body was laid,
- A hemispherical earthen mound covering the chamber with a brick structure (Chaw-chali), and
- Octagonal boundary wall around mound’s base having an arched gateway on its west.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites (WHS)
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