Lord Xavius
Mostly Lurking
Nicely researched! I feel like we might be close to the answer.
[GS] Gathering Storm Screenshots Discussion Thread
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There's so many choices that without being an architectural historian specializing in India, it's hard to come to a firm conclusion.
Trav'ling Canuck
Deity
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If it's Tamil, it might be found on northern Sri Lana, as well, as someone noted.
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While the general structure looks Dravidian, those gold domes seem to come from a Devi temple, which I think are from northern India.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Naina_Devi_Temple,_Himachal.jpg
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Naina_Devi_Temple,_Himachal.jpg
Could be a mix...
blackcatatonic
Queen of Meme
My personal feeling is that, if they were going to add a Wonder from Sri Lanka, a temple like this that can't easily be identified is an odd choice. What about Sigiriya, Dambulla, the Temple of the Tooth, one of any number of landmarks in Anuradhapura? It doesn't much look like a kovil to my eyes, unless they really simplified the design.
A thought (my partner's, so I can't take credit): what if it's an artist's "best guess" of a temple or palace that was destroyed in a natural disaster? I had a brief google for Indian temples and palaces destroyed in earthquakes but haven't had any luck so far.
A thought (my partner's, so I can't take credit): what if it's an artist's "best guess" of a temple or palace that was destroyed in a natural disaster? I had a brief google for Indian temples and palaces destroyed in earthquakes but haven't had any luck so far.
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Yes, several people have suggested that this is a temple that no longer exists and the design is based on interpretations of ruins and similar structures.
It seems very likely to be the case. So far, no one has proposed any candidates, probably because not many of us are steeped that deeply in Indian history.
Boris Gudenuf
Deity
After looking at a couple hundred images of Hindu, Buddhist, general Indian, Sri Lankan, Indonesian, South Asian domes, temples, palaces, etc. I can only offer the following:
1. The central roof is very similar to Dravidian structures of South India/Sri Lanka.
2. The 'Onion Domes' resemble nothing on any Buddhist or Hindu temple anywhere I could find. But they are very similar to the spired domes on Sikh Gurdwaras all over north India/Sindh/Punjab region, frequently as 'subsidiary domes' on the corners of the central building, as on the game image. Gurdwaras are also associated with 'sacred pools' and water features and most feature a square central worship building. BUT the traditional Gurdwaras that I found all have a central dome, which this structure does not.
3. The steps leading up to an elevated entrance to the main structure are found in various forms on HIndu temples, but not Buddhist or Sikh ones, as far as I could find.
In other words, the &^#$% thing is a mixture of architectural and religious styles! That said, the historical interactions over much of southeast Asia, mixing religious and architectural influences, makes it likely that it is from the Indian sub-continent, where Hindu, Moslem, Buddhist, Jainist, and Sikh 'borrowed' from each other regularly. I am going to keep rummaging and see if I can find reconstructions of earlier Sikh Gurdwaras - being a religion with a lot of Hindu and Islamic influences, the earlier Sikh Gurdwaras might well have mixed their architectural styles in different ways as well.
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I did find a Nau Devi temple from Northern India that had big pools and water coursing down steps like you see in the mystery wonder. However none of the other elements were there.
Isn't that B'hala?The pillar in front of the temple bears a lot of resemblance to the carved pillars at Kailasa temple:
I don't think it's Indian. It doesn't have characteristic Hindu or Indian Buddhist temple features, and there are like a dozen much grander and much more famous Indian temples to choose from.
If they were going to do a Sikh wonder, I would expect them to choose something more iconic like the Golden Temple.
I think it's something much more obscure. It may be referencing some ancient structure which no longer exists, and this is just an artist's conception of it.
If they were going to do a Sikh wonder, I would expect them to choose something more iconic like the Golden Temple.
I think it's something much more obscure. It may be referencing some ancient structure which no longer exists, and this is just an artist's conception of it.
durfal
The Dutch Daredevil
Since this building is apparently so obscure that even after searching temples, palaces and fortresses from all over Asia we can't find it, my main thoughts are, why use this it as a wonder in the first place?
Kilwa I could understand as there are not that many wondrous" buildings in Sub-Saharan Africa and it was a great wonder.
But there are hundreds (if not thousands) of temples, fortresses, palaces, mosques and all kind of other buildings that are still standing in this region alone that are famous enough to be in the game.
This has to be a building that they put in the game for a very specific reason, like it fills the theme of the expansion or a wondrous building of a new feature like the Golden Gate Bridge as an example of a bridge.
Maybe it has a connection with one of the existing leaders (Chandragupta?, Gandhi?).
Maybe Bathhouses are a new feature of the Aquaduct or City Center and this Wonder counts as one in each of your cities or something.
Kilwa I could understand as there are not that many wondrous" buildings in Sub-Saharan Africa and it was a great wonder.
But there are hundreds (if not thousands) of temples, fortresses, palaces, mosques and all kind of other buildings that are still standing in this region alone that are famous enough to be in the game.
This has to be a building that they put in the game for a very specific reason, like it fills the theme of the expansion or a wondrous building of a new feature like the Golden Gate Bridge as an example of a bridge.
Maybe it has a connection with one of the existing leaders (Chandragupta?, Gandhi?).
Maybe Bathhouses are a new feature of the Aquaduct or City Center and this Wonder counts as one in each of your cities or something.
Boris Gudenuf
Deity
I agree, which is why I started by searching for pictures of baths, Palaces, Hammams, etc. I got really excited when I started finding references to the Artuklu Hammam, because it ties in with Dams and the Ottomans - it's being moved to avoid inundation by a new dam. Unfortunately, no resemblance except that the central building is square - no sign of stairs, towers, or steeply-inclined roof. Sigh.
Lord Lakely
Idea Fountain
What if it's not a wonder, but a CS tile improvement?
I found domes in Sri Lankan / Southern Indian Temples (solid stone/bricks, but they might have been gold plated) and several options for the main buildin that would fit well. Also several temple tanks with stairs leading up. No water towers though. Most temples I found have much, much more ornamentation. So I think we are not looking at something from the golden time of Dravidian architecture, but a more ancient building (early medieval?).
I think it is too big and too detailed for that. It looks exactly like a wonder to me.
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Hey! Just changing the subject a little bit from the Indian Wonder thing, but in this screenshot, in the city-center, it appears that there is a watermill.
Does that mean it's a new building of the city-center if based along a river/canal, or is it just artwork?
Does that mean it's a new building of the city-center if based along a river/canal, or is it just artwork?
