Coding the carved: the development of a coding system for inventorying stone-carved graves in Pakistan

The tradition of interring the dead in carved stone graves and structures was endemic to the tribal people of lower Sindh and Baluchistan. These people hailed from the many Baloch tribes that formed the ethnic makeup of the region before 1947 ce. This regional cultural heritage which reveals shared patrimony has not been systematically documented. This article discusses the development of a coding system that facilitates systematic inventory documentation of the graveyards. The coding system is the original work of the authors, which details the characteristic features of the graveyards and how they are coded alphanumerically to develop a comprehensive, yet open-ended inventory. Graves act as the primary reference point to develop such coding since they are a most vulnerable resource. As inventory documentation has not previously been attempted for these graveyards, a coding system was required and was developed through a pilot study of three places in lower Sindh; namely, Malir Graveyard in Karachi and Sondha and Pir-Patho graveyards in Thatta. A trial-and-error method was used to develop the coding, taking both the site and the literature as key components of the study. Developing a unique code for each graveyard, conducting extensive photo documentation on site and identifying typology and coding images are some components of the methodology. The article discusses the rationale behind the coding system and the development of several headings within which the inventory documentation will be sorted. It concludes by discussing the merits, scope and limitations of inventory documentation of stone carved graves and their graveyards.