Adi Kadi ni Vav and Navghan kuvo

ADI KADI NI VAV: The earliest stepwells in India we known..... vav is carved entirely out of hard virgin rock.Its locatition in such complex geological strata reveals the skills of the water diviners of its period of construction. A narrow flight of 120 stairs cuts down through the stone to meet the well shaft deep in the stone. Vav is descended by an extensive flight of steps (162 to be precise) leading to the shaft of this enormous well. It’s 41 m deep, 81 m long and 4.75 m wide, and the entire structure was cut out of solid rock. The step well has no external elements whatsoever. You won’t find here any kutas (pavilion towers), niches or bracing beams, which are so typical for the ornate stepwells of Gujarat, but the rock strata along the walkway look fantastic. Its rock stratum along the walls is impressive. The spaces of the well itself were carved out of stone, leaving the structure of the well (the columns, the walls, etc.) out of the original rock. This means no structural construction is done, so the whole structure of the well is hewn out of a single stone.

NAVGHAN KUVO: Hewn partly out of soft rock, Navghan kuvo is almost a thousand years old being constructed in the year 1026 CE. It is a shining example of the early rock-cut architecture of the period hewn into the rock. A flight of spiral stairs lead down 52 metres (170 ft) to the water. The shaft itself is square shaped. Openings in the side wall let in light. The well is surrounded by a large forecourt. The well itself is much older than the forecourt. The well is named after Ra`Navghan (1025 -44) CE. The forecourt can be dated to the reign of Ra`Navghan. It is possible that this stepwell is one of the oldest to be found in the country.