Jungle Ruins and Sacred Forests: Ecologies of the Forgotten Monument

This session investigates the convergence of landscape, mythology, and sacred geography in the formation, decay, and transformation of ruins within forested or overgrown environments globally, while drawing conceptual inspiration from South Asian sites, such as Bhimbetka’s rock shelters, Simhachalam’s temple complex, the Buddhist site of Phanigiri, or Mughal and colonial monuments across northern India. From the jungle-embraced temples of Angkor Wat, the forested monasteries of Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka, the moss-laden structures of Tikal in Guatemala, the sacred groves of Osun-Osogbo in Nigeria, to the weathered stones of Göbekli Tepe in Turkey or the lichen-covered remnants of Hadrian’s Wall in Britain, we shall probe how ecological processes—vegetal, animal, and elemental—reclaim, reconfigure, or sacralise ruins. How do non-human agents, local deities, or forest-dwelling communities shape these sites’ preservation or dissolution? Moving beyond conservationist frameworks, I invite papers that theorise ruins’ ontological and temporal transformations within ecological temporalities, interrogating their shifting cultural and material significance.

Submissions analysing specific sites, mythologies, or communities, or exploring intersections of ecology, culture, and ruination, are sought. Contributions may address historical or contemporary cases, examine sacrality and environmental agency, or investigate non-human roles in ruins’ afterlives. While rooted in South Asian inspiration, global perspectives are encouraged to foster comparative dialogue and insights.

This session will comprise 4 papers (20 minutes each, followed by 10 minutes of discussion; and a 20-minute roundtable debate at the end). Proposals must clearly articulate their conceptual focus, specify the site or theme, and align with the session’s theoretical concerns.

Submit your Paper via this form. Please download, complete and send it directly to the Session Convenor(s) below by Sunday 2 November 2025:

Archishman Sarker, Ashoka University, India, archishman.sarker@ashoka.edu.in