Type: Monument - Fort
Province: Sindh
District: Thatta
Period: Historic
Relative Chronology: 16th Century CE
Description: Located on Makli hills on south of the Archaeological campus at a distance of about 8 km are the extensive remains of a ruined fort once known as Kalan Kot or Tughluabad. This fort, according to Tarikh-i-Masumi, is said to have been constructed by Mirza Jani Beg somewhere in the last quarter of 16th Century CE on the site of an earlier fort built by Jam Taghur or Tughluk on the site of a still earlier Hindu fort. Mirza Jani Beg, while fighting with emperor Akbar`s troops under Khan Khanan, wrote to his father Payndah Beg and his son Abul Fateh who were at Thatta, to construct a Fort as a place of refuge, should he be compelled to flee before the enemy. He further desired, under such circumstances, the city of Thatta should be abandoned to its fate and they should take themselves a long with the peoples to Kalankot. So was done, we are told, and the city of Thatta was laid waste for short duration. The fort is extensive and appears to be an irregular oblong in plan. The fort wall which has considerable thickness and together with its circular bastions is built with a core of mud, bricks lined on either side with a layer of burnt bricks laid in mud mortar. The thickness of this burnt brick, lining course is about 10 inches. From the structural remains which are still available on the site. It is quite evident that the entire area of the fort was divided into different sectors each beset with various type of residential buildings. Nothing is left of such a big fort except some dilapidated portion of the fortification wall or ruined bastions. The only conspicuous features among the remains are the ruined mosque with a big tank in front of it. The rough extent of the mosque may be taken as 76.2 x 50.2 m and that of the tank 29.2 x 26.5 x 4.2 m. What remains now of the mosque is the main roofless prayer chamber with its main entrance arch on east the thickness of which is 3 m. The existing height of the walls is about 7.5 m. In the mehrab on west there are remains of honey-combed plaster work. The Jambs and spandrels of the upper niches are lined with white/blue glazed tiles the traces of which can still be seen. The floor of the mosque was paved with plain tiles. The main entrance arch of the mosque has been lined with cut and dressed brick tiles laid in mud mortar but the visible joints deeply treated with lime cheroli mortar. A damaged stone pulpit beautifully carved in floral design also occupies the space in NW corner of the mosque. The tank lying in front of the mosque is deeply out in rock lined with bricks laid in lime mortar and finally covered with thick lime plaster.
Latitude: 24.742743620
Longitude: 67.970246006
Ownership: Federal Government
Legal Status: Protected by The Antiquity Act 1975 (As amended in 1992)
Title of Publication: Archaeological Sites and Historical Monuments Protected Under the Antiquities Act, 1975
Published In: Federal Department of Archaeology & Museums, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad
Year of Publication: 1987
Bibliography/Reference: Khan, Ahmad Nabi
