Mystery Towers of The Himalayas

There exist a series of star-shaped and square shaped towers (more than 500 according to locals)for a purpose nobody has ever figured out but historians, archaeologists, architects presume and predict that it may have been used as a tower for defensive purposes as people would take refuge in the towers, also it is believed that their main function was to showcase a family's prestige within the community. The locals have no idea why or who built the towers or when it was built and there are no written records anywhere in the ancient texts of any account of the towers. It is located near a region of Tibet named Kham and was inhabited by modern Qiang people (ethnic Chinese group residing in upper river valleys of Min River) and in historical region inhabited by the Tanguts (Tibeto-Burman tribe who resided Western Xia under Tuyuhun Authority, 1038-1227). There are four places in China, Lhasa in Kongpo, and in Chengdu Qiang, Gyalrong and Miniyak. These towers are seen in cities and desolated regions. The towers are identified and listed by World Monuments Watch, it is also listed as an endangered site by Chinese experts as some of the towers have been vandalized and not properly maintained through time. Locals are trying for the declaration of the towers to be a part of UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Frederique Darragon (born 29 May 1949 in Paris) is a French explorer best known for her documentary film The Secret Towers of Himalayas, which chronicled her journey to the stone towers of Sichuan and Tibet. Darragon was in the Himalayan regions looking for snow leopards when she made crucial discoveries by carbon-dating wood pieces from the inside of the structure and came to the conclusion that these pieces are 500 to 1800 years old. During the reign of Genghis Khan and the Mongol conquest of Asia, this structure was constructed. The towers have withstood numerous earthquakes due to their star-shaped designs. The construction techniques include masonry with wooden beams, a Chinese anti-seismic technique that is still used today. Since the towers were built during the Mongol conquest of Tibet, they have presumably been put to various uses, making carbon dating the parts of the tower extremely difficult.

During the years 2000 and 2003, Darragon had shipped pieces of wood from 32 towers to a lab in Miami for radiocarbon dating. Many structures have been several hundred years old; but one tower structure in Kongpo, Tibet, Lhasa is much older, it was constructed between 1000 and 1200 years old, the method of carbon dating is not very accurate and the structures could younger. On an occasion, Darragon was once injured whilst chopping off a part of wood from a tower and it had injured her forehead, 6 months later when she went again to search the same tower, it had completely collapsed.

The question remains; Why were these structures built? Out of several ideas one proposition by Bianca Horlemann, an independent Tibetan Scholar in Bethesda Maryland states that "it was for a religious function, perhaps showing the cord that, according to the Tibetan legends, it is said to join heaven and earth" , also by a linguist Marielle Prins says that "the towers were built for defense". Some scholars also suggest that the towers are not mysterious at all,

If there is any mystery surrounding them, it's no doubt partly a product of Western mythology around anything Tibetan and the fact that until recently the Chinese forbade access to the region.

This quote was said by Alex Gardner, a Buddhism specialist in the University of Michigan, he further adds,

I don’t see how they could be called 'unknown' when they are visible for miles, and the region is crisscrossed with trading routes and now automobile roads.

It was not considered to be a religious structure despite the display of the flags by the locals, Tibetan folklores mention of a Kingdom whose Queen resided in the tall tower, and presumably therefore the young women could be the descendants of the Queen. The tower is now accessible via newly built steps which direct to the door 20 feet high above ground, beneath the door entrance, the tower is in solid stone and the windows are seemed to be made for defense and very few are designed for residence. The spaces are narrow as the walls are very thick, the towers also contain a flat roof (which is collapsed). The floors have been restored. Internal ladders linked the floors which were like platforms. The towers which are collapsed are the rectangular towers due to its shape, whereas the star shaped had survived the earthquakes because of the ridges which are present in the star shape. The towers were constructed very far away from fields and therefore the rule out as silos or defensive structures. One folklore also states that the towers were built during the birth of the child and every year during the child's birthdays the tower was erected. The star shaped towers are the sight to see due to their shape in plan form and elevation heights.

Star shaped Plan

Universal eight point star which means eight is an important number in turns of balance and not always it is represented with a star but in Buddhism it appears in the eight paths of Buddha and eight immortals in Chinese tradition.

Darragon's extensive research continued in mountainous areas of the Tibetan regions where cars could not get access to. Some castles are built with two Typical Slav walled buildings on both sides of the tower. In Miniyak, three towers reside and one of them is a star shaped tower with 13 points. It is white stones for Miniyak people which symbolize good luck. According to legend the detailed design of 13 corners was drawn by a Tibetan woman with a ball of string, in gratitude the local king married her for the feet. Minyak residents today presumably are descendants of the nomadic ancestors who build the towers. They were once part of the powerful Minyak Kingdom that controlled the western portion of the Silk Road for 300 years until its destruction in 1227 by the Mongols, after the destruction, they moved south where they are currently present. The surprising fact is that the Minyaks today are able to speak the language of the lost kingdom and do not contain any written scripts or instructions or accounts of these structures. Some are nomads and some are villagers and they share their produce in exchange for butter and meat.

Some towers have small stones and more mortar, have more mortar, have smaller openings and the door is located right at the base, making it easier to break into as compared to the rest of the towers. They have 12 perpendicular angles which resulted in interlocking rectangles. Carbon dating shows that the towers were built between 10th and 14th centuries. Carbon dating also suggests that the finger towers are 600 to 1000 years old they also don't have a written language and no written records of their history. This finger shaped tower has thin fins and are a part of fortified villages and were defenseless structures. The square multi-sided towers of the Yadong Valleys were used for storage but showcased the symbols of prestige and it was built during a time of great wealth wherein each family wanted to outdo the other. Fertile plains where trade routes hold the eight pointed star shaped towers of Zhangmu valley and also the twin towers.