some rock-cut architecture, mostly for tombs, is excavated entirely in chambers under the surface of relatively level rock. if the excavation is instead made into the side of a cliff or steep slope, there can be an impressive facade, as found in lycian tombs, petra, ajanta and elsewhere. the most laborious and impressive rock-cut architecture is the excavation of tall free-standing monolithic structures entirely below the surface level of the surrounding rock, in a large excavated hole around the structure. ellora in india and lalibela in ethiopia (built by the zagwe dynasty) provide the most spectacular and famous examples of such structures.