Standing only a few hundred yards south of the mausoleum of emperor Humayun is the monumental tomb built by Abdur Rahim Khan-I Khanan for his wife – Mah Banu. Built in 1598 AD, this would be the first monumental tomb built for a lady in Mughal times and, on his death, Rahim was also buried in the mausoleum he had built for his wife...
The need for extensive conservation and landscape works in Abdur Rahim Khan I Khanan’s Tomb was felt necessary to ensure long term preservation, enhance visitor understanding and experience of the Tomb and cultural heritage of Rahim. Detailed structural analysis was carried out of the building at the crypt, plinth, foundation, chambers and dome. Investigative ‘tell-tales’ installed at various locations on the building to assess any movements.
Through 2014, exhaustive recording, architectural documentation, condition assessment, structural assessments, surveys and research exercise was carried out by the multi-disciplinary project team as a precursor to the Conservation Plan that forms the foundation for the project. One of the key aspects of documentation works is exhaustive high resolution photography of all stages of conservation works, prior to commencement of works. Laser Scanning is used for accurate architectural documentation and condition mapping and detailed 3D representations of the monument.
Prior to outlining the conservation philosophy, it was considered essential to define the significance as is understood by the project team. This is to be read in conjunction with the Statement of Outstanding Universal Value as per the nomination dossier.
The conservation works preceded by high standards of recording to be undertaken are focused on restoring the ‘spirit and feeling’ of the space with an emphasis on craftsmanship, interpretation and supervision. A stone by stone analysis of each facade was carried out to identify the various decorative elements on each facade and to better understand the patterns of cladding in its entirety, as it would have been. The analysis informed the conservation philosophy for the restoration of the facade and stone blocks are being restored where considered necessary and where evidence of stone patterns leaves no doubt of original cladding details.
Evaluation of the importance of the elements involved, and the decision as to what may be destroyed cannot rest solely on those in charge of the work. Additionally, being a related place to the WHS, it is considered essential that the conservation works are on a regular basis reviewed by independent experts in addition to ASI Core Committee and AKTC officials.
Implementation of works commenced only after the approval of the conservation plan by the ASI Core Committee. Following the completion of the project, Conservation Plan (text, photographs and drawings) will be available on the project website and thus accessible worldwide.
Conservation works commenced only on the basis of adequate financial resources being available for the successful implementation of this project. The project has access to technical staff, national and international experts. In order to ensure quality of craftsmen, no conservation works are being tendered – all works being carried out by master-craftsmen employed by the project. Similarly traditional materials – sandstone & lime – are procured and prepared with quality assurance.
Conservation works are being carried out in keeping with the conservation plan and are guided by Engineers with over three decades of conservation experience and by experienced conservation architects. A conservation architect and a junior engineer are present at all times during conservation works and are assisted by field supervisors.
Six monthly progress reports will be prepared for record and donor reporting. On the completion of the project a publication on the project will be published. In addition, the annual report will document works carried out each year.
All conservation works being undertaken at Rahim’s tomb utilize ‘available traditional craftsmanship in the country and the use of traditional building materials and skills as an integral part of the conservation process’. All repairs have focussed on imparting ‘stability and to prevent loss of original material’. The conservation effort have primarily aimed to ‘prolong the life’ of the mausoleum while preventing any further ‘damage and deterioration’ by ‘minimising the impact of external agents of decay (natural and human induced) on its setting, structure and material’. All efforts to conserve Rahim’s mausoleum will aim to ‘retain its value and significance, its authenticity and integrity, its visual connections to and from the monument, and to sustain a truthful representation of its original / historic appearance’.
The ground level arcade had a raised chabutra or platform which no longer survived though visible in archival images. Built of Delhi quartzite, this platform had been replaced with a sandstone plinth protection at a much lower level than the original chabutra – thus exposing wall surfaces that were originally meant to be buried. As the platform is an important architectural element and a significant interface between the garden and the mausoleum the platform will be restored to its original levels.
The ground level arcade comprises of 17 arches on each of the four facades of the mausoleum. Modern cement-surkhi plaster was applied to the arches in the ground level arcade during 2002-05 disfiguring the historic character and damaging original lime plaster. The missing plasterwork on all chambers has been restored and the concrete flooring of these chambers has been replaced with sandstone paving. The facade of the arcade comprises sandstone edging of each arch with spandrels of buff coloured sandstone with a decorative medallion on each stone. Some of these medallions have been missing or inappropriately replaced, which has been restored with new medallions prepared by master-craftsmen.
In the centre of the southern facade the steps leads to the grave chamber. Unlike at Humayun’s Tomb the domed chamber is supported on columns and has a circumambulatory passage all around it. Major structural cracks were seen in the roof of the chamber and heavy settlement of the flooring of the passage – both of which required emergency repairs to be undertaken to ensure structural stability.
On account of the mausoleum being used as a quarry in the 18th century, marble and sandstone blocks have been stripped from here, and the structure presents a ruinous appearance. With the protective stone cladding removed from large parts of the structure, the building is today in a poor state of preservation. Major repairs to portions of the building have been carried out in the 20th century that has ensured preservation. These repairs are being retained as examples of good repairs.
The tomb interiors have cement layers that has not only disfigured the decorative incised plasterwork but also significantly disfigured the historic architectural character. The cracks in the vaults and domed surfaces have been inappropriately filled in with cement mortar in places. On the four corners of the principal tomb chamber stand domed ancillary chambers, and as with the principal tomb chamber, they are profusely decorated using incised plasterwork. Layers of plain cement-surkhi plaster repairs have been carried out in these chambers disfiguring original elements. Decorative incised plasterwork has been restored where original patterns can be deciphered or have disintegrated.
The cement-concrete layer laid on the terrace will be carefully and manually removed as it has been causing water percolation to the lower levels. This will be replaced with a traditional lime concrete laid to original levels and slopes, ensuring long term preservation of the structure. The four corners of the roof have large octagonal canopies that stand on a raised platform. These have been covered with unnecessary layers of cement plaster/concrete, disfiguring their original profiles and decorative elements such as the red-white kangura pattern on the neck of the dome and broken sandstone eaves. Conservation works will restore their original character and missing elements. In the centre of the four sides stand low vaulted dalans, suffering due to water percolation from the roof above. As with Humayun’s Tomb, over each of the four dalans stood two canopies each, but now only one on the northern face can be found standing. Stone elements of the missing canopies were found at the site, and careful documentation of the stones suggests that four more canopies can be built using the pieces.
The tomb is crowned with a double dome, where the outer dome would have originally been clad with marble serving as a protective layer for the underlying masonry. This was stripped in the 19th century exposing the underlying random rubble masonry. The inner layer of the dome is in brick masonry and had significant deep cracks. Following a detailed assessment and studies by structural engineer and ASI-AKTC committee on their cause, conservation works were undertaken which included re-plastering. An important next step is addition of marble to the dome as a protective layer and important architectural element.
The cenotaph sits in a double height domed chamber exactly over the actual burial chamber. The original plaster patterns which had been disfigured using cement-surkhi plaster, have been painstakingly cleaned and restored. The tomb chamber floor was covered with cement concrete thereby significantly disfiguring the historic architectural character, and has now been replaced with hand-dressed red sandstone flooring.
The sandstone on the upper plinth was possibly stripped in the 18th century and replaced with cement concrete. Based on the evidence of stone thickness and existing patterns the plinth will be restored with red sandstone. The sandstone parapet has been restored as an important safety measure, using the same patterns as Humayun’s Tomb. A large foliated water tank found on the upper plinth suggested an elaborate water lifting mechanism to operate fountains on the terrace level. Further explorations have revealed a fountain in the foliated tank and further studies on the water mechanism are ongoing.
The corner chambers of the arcade and three deep chambers are plastered with decorative incised plasterwork. Modern cement-surkhi plaster was applied to the arches in the ground level arcade during 2002-05 disfiguring the historic character and damaging original lime plaster. The four corners were restored using Delhi quartzite stone, one of the hardest stones known, as per the original details to strengthen the corners and tie-together the plinth base structurally.
The monumental double domed structure today adorns a ruinous appearance and comparison with archival photographs reveals that significant deterioration has occurred over the last half century. The multi-disciplinary team, along with craftsmen, together undertook conservation of the mausoleum with the principal objective being to halt the deterioration process that has set in and ensure long term preservation which will require stabilization of the monument foundation, reinstating some of the stone that was stripped from here in the 18th century and restoring original details.
