Tibet Archaeology

and all things Tibetan

Sacred Geography

: The left eye of the goddess Dangra Lekyi Wangmoche

: The vastness of the northern Chang thang

: Semo Do, the biggest island in Lake Nam Tsho

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

: The islands of Lake Darok

: The heart of Zhang Zhung’s Warrior Queen

: A village on the sacred Lake Dangra

: Father Targo and Mother Dangra

: Erecting prayer flags at the heart of Lake Nam Tsho

: Pelzimphuk Monastery

: A shrine for the goddess of Lake Mapang

: The fiery red cliffs of the Three Defenders

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

: En route to the Yellow Island

: Frozen straits, ancient remains

: Father Thanglha and Mother Nam Tsho

: The defile of Chuti, Guge

: Walking to Horse Saddle

: Tise, Asia’s holiest mountain

: Mount Tise from the middle of Lake La Ngak

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.