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Rock-cut architecture

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Rock-cut architecture is the creation of structures, buildings, and sculptures, by excavating solid rock where it naturally occurs. Rock-cut architecture is designed and made by man from the start to finish.

Caves and caverns, that began in natural form, are not considered to be 'rock-cut architecture' even if extensively modified. Another term sometimes associated with rock-cut architecture is monolithic architecture, which is rather applied to free-standing structures made of a single piece of material.

Interiors were usually carved out by starting at the roof of the planned space and then working downward. This technique prevents stones falling on workers below.

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.

Rock-cut architecture, though intensely laborious with ancient tools and methods, was presumably combined with quarrying the rock for use elsewhere; the huge amounts of stone removed have normally vanished from the site.
Indian rock-cut architecture is more various and found in greater abundance than any other form of rock-cut architecture around the world. Indian rock-cut architecture is mostly religious in nature.
There are more than 1,500 known rock cut structures in India. Many of these structures contain artwork of global importance, and most are adorned with exquisite stone carvings.

Reference:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock-cut_architecture