AFCP 2023-25, Documentation of 16th-17th Century Mughal Monuments on the Grand Trunk Road
  • AFCP 2023-25, Documentation of 16th-17th Century Mughal Monuments on the Grand Trunk Road
  • AFCP 2023-25, Documentation of 16th-17th Century Mughal Monuments on the Grand Trunk Road
  • AFCP 2023-25, Documentation of 16th-17th Century Mughal Monuments on the Grand Trunk Road
AFCP 2023-25, Documentation of 16th-17th Century Mughal Monuments on the Grand Trunk Road


 
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Tank and Baradari, Sarai Banjara, P...

The tank and associated baradari are located to the north of Sarai Banjara (Link Road) in Patiala district of Punjab, with the baradari positioned on the western bank of the tank. Although no inscription records their patronage, architectural features suggest a seventeenth-century date. Both structures are unprotected and survive in a ruinous state: the tank has been repurposed for cultivation with only faint traces of its southern steps visible, while the baradari consists of five arched chambers with stairways in the east and west walls leading to an inaccessible roof.

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Tank of Todarmal, Raja Tal, Punjab

The Tank of Todarmal is a Mughal-period water structure situated in Raja Tal (Attari Road) in Amritsar district of Punjab, close to the India–Pakistan border. Constructed in 1582 CE under the patronage of Raja Todarmal, a diwan in Emperor Akbar’s court, the tank originally featured stepped ghats on all four sides, with bathing platforms at the corners and midpoints. Built of lakhori bricks set in lime mortar and plaster, the tank formed the nucleus around which the settlement developed. The structure is unprotected and survives in a severely deteriorated state, with only fragments of the steps and walls remaining; the tank has dried up and is now used for farming.

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Tank, Kosikalan Tank, UP

The Tank at Kosikalan (Pathwari Mandir) is a historic water tank located about 140 metres west of the old Grand Trunk Road, in the centre of Kosikalan town, Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, with Sarai Kosi (rest house) lying to its southeast. Of uncertain date and patronage, the rectangular tank is built of lakhori bricks, red sandstone, and lime mortar and is lined with ghats on all four sides, including octagonal extensions, a chhatri on the northern ghat, and small shrines on the southern ghat. The tank is unprotected and, while still used by local residents for daily and religious activities, suffers from poor maintenance of the ghats and deteriorating water quality due to garbage disposal.

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Taraori Sarai, Karnal, Haryana

A Mughal-period caravansarai or rest house located northwest of Taraori town in Karnal district, Haryana. Attributed to the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707 CE), the square enclosure is constructed of lakhori bricks, red sandstone, and lime mortar, with corner bastions and three-storeyed gateways on the north and south. The complex includes a mosque within the southwest corner, now repurposed as a Gurudwara and a tank situated outside the southern wall, both dating to the same period. Currently unprotected, the sarai has suffered structural damage, including vegetation overgrowth, loss of original materials, blocked archways, and alterations using modern bricks. Despite this, the enclosure remains inhabited, largely by families of Partition-era refugees from Multan region in present day Pakistan, and parts of the gateways and cells continue to be used as residences.

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Thanesar Sarai, Haryana

Sarai Thanesar is a mid-17th-century Mughal sarai or rest house located in Kalyan Nagar, Thanesar in Kurukshetra district of Haryana, adjoining the tomb of Sheikh Chilli. Built as part of the larger tomb–madrasa complex, the structure is constructed of lakhori bricks, rubble masonry, and lime mortar. The sarai has an asymmetrical layout, with rooms along the east, west, and north sides—those on the east and west covered by pointed barrel vaults, and those on the north by domical vaults—and a single gateway on the east. The monument is protected and well maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (Chandigarh Circle) and is presently used as a public garden.

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Tomb near Mughal Sarai, Nurdi, Punj...

This Mughal-period tomb is located on the western outskirts of Nurdi village, south of the Chabal–Attari Road in Tarn Taran district of Punjab, with the associated sarai (rest house) situated to its east. Constructed between 1608-1650 CE, the tomb follows a Baghdadi octagonal plan and is built of lakhori bricks with red sandstone and lime plaster. The monument is under the Central Waqf Council and survives in a deteriorated condition, with extensive loss of plaster, surface blackening, vegetation growth, and structural cracking visible.

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