Tibet Archaeology

and all things Tibetan

Sacred Geography

: Frozen straits, ancient remains

: The islands of Lake Darok

: A shrine for the goddess of Lake Mapang

: The fiery red cliffs of the Three Defenders

: Father Targo and Mother Dangra

: Father Thanglha and Mother Nam Tsho

: Semo Do, the biggest island in Lake Nam Tsho

: A village on the sacred Lake Dangra

: Tise, Asia’s holiest mountain

: The vastness of the northern Chang thang

: Erecting prayer flags at the heart of Lake Nam Tsho

: The heart of Zhang Zhung’s Warrior Queen

: The left eye of the goddess Dangra Lekyi Wangmoche

: The defile of Chuti, Guge

: En route to the Yellow Island

: Crossing a huge expanse of ice with upwards of 300 m of water below

: Mount Tise from the middle of Lake La Ngak

: The Zhang Zhung mountain and lake of Tang Gung and Mating Tingmo

: Pelzimphuk Monastery

: Walking to Horse Saddle

Scholar, explorer, writer and pilgrim John Vincent Bellezza is widely recognized as one of the foremost specialists in the archaeology and ancient cultural history of Tibet. He has lived in the high Himalaya for over a quarter of a century. Explore these pages for information about his work.

A senior research fellow at the Tibet Center, University of Virginia, Dr. Bellezza has written extensively on the nomads, history and culture of Upper Tibet. A pioneer in his field, he is credited with the discovery of hundreds of pre-Buddhist archaeological sites, describing the monuments and the people that built them in great detail. The Iron Age civilization he has charted is associated with Zhang Zhung, Tibet’s fabled ancient kingdom and source of much of her culture.