Frederique Darragon (29 May 1949, Paris) is a French explorer known for her documentary film ''The Secret Towers of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

'', which chronicled her expedition to the mystifying stone towers of

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

and

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

. She wrote a book also titled ''The Secret Towers of the Himalayas''. She is founder and president of the

Unicorn Foundation The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years ...

, to which profits from the film were contributed. She is the co-founder of the

Sichuan University Sichuan University (SCU) is a National university, national National Key Universities, key public university, public research university in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. The university is wholly funded by Ministry of Education of the People's Republic ...

Unicorn Heritage Institute. She made several important discoveries. By carbon-dating bits of wood from the internal structure of the towers, she confirmed that they were built 500 to 1,800 years ago. The fact that many of the towers have survived hundreds of earthquakes and tremors over the years, is probably due to their star-shaped design as well as to their construction method which intersperses masonry with wood planks or beams – an anti-seismic technique specific to this part of China and still employed in the region today. Combined with the vast numbers and size of the towers, this is evidence that a sophisticated civilization once existed in these remote areas. Darragon believes these areas are now sure to become a major tourist attraction and has lobbied for the towers to be listed as a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

for their protection and preservation

Work

* '' Himalayan Towers, The Secret towers of the Himalayas''. 2003 Documentary * '' Himalayan Towers, The Secret towers of the Himalayas''. 2005 English/Chinese book published in China /K2

External links

Unicorn Foundation - Who are weNewsweek - Towers to the Heavens Smithsonian Magazine April 2004Journal of Cambridge studies–
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darragon, Frederique 1949 births Explorers from Paris Living people French sinologists French travel writers French documentary filmmakers

Work

See also

External links