Chaukhandi Tombs

The Chaukhandi tombs are a burial ground of the Jokhio and Baloch communities, built mostly between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, and their form is unique to this stretch of Sindh and Balochistan: rectangular boxes of yellow sandstone slabs stacked in diminishing tiers like small stepped pyramids, some topped by a crowning stone, the whole surface carved with dense geometric patterns, rosettes and bands. Men's tombs carry weapons and horsemen; women's carry jewellery motifs. The carving is executed in a flat, textile-like manner that suggests embroidery translated into stone. The site spreads over a rocky rise beside the highway with hundreds of tombs in various states of collapse, and there is no shade or structure of any kind. Erosion, vandalism and unregulated development nearby have taken a steady toll, though the site is protected.

History

The tombs are generally attributed to the Jokhio tribe, whose family graveyard this is, with burials of the Burfat, Jakhra and Shaikh and of the Kalmati Baloch as well. They were built mainly during Mughal rule, between the 16th and 18th centuries, in the funerary style of lower Sindh seen also at the Makli Necropolis near Thatta (Wikipedia, Chaukhandi tombs).

What you'll find

• Stepped slab tombs - stacked sandstone boxes with crowning stones.
• Carved ornament - geometric bands, rosettes and figurative panels.
• Gendered iconography - weapons and riders on men's tombs, jewellery on women's.
• The tomb field - hundreds of monuments spread over the rise.

When to go

November to February; the site is fully exposed and summer heat is severe. Early morning and late afternoon give raking light that brings out the carving, which flattens badly at midday. It is an easy stop on the road between Karachi and Thatta.

Before you go

Many tombs have collapsed and the site is not well maintained, with litter and some vandalism. There is no interpretation, no shade and no facilities beyond a ticket hut. The highway runs alongside, so it is not quiet. An hour covers it.

Nearby

Karachi is half an hour west; Thatta and Makli lie further east.

Key facts