Restoration Work on Isa Khan's Tomb led to Discovery of India's Oldest Sunken Garden

Restoration work on Isa Khan's tomb in New Delhi led to the discovery of the country's oldest sunken garden. Restorers at the Isa Khan's tomb in the precincts of the Humayun's Tomb World Heritage Site discovered that the Isa Khan's tomb stood within a hitherto unknown sunken garden. The sunken garden predates the famed gardens that the Mughals built and popularised. Pieces of underlying archaeology were also uncovered at the site.

The sunken garden Isa Khan's Tomb site predates the Humanyun's Tomb garden by two decades. Isa Khan's garden tomb is the earliest example of a sunken garden in India attached to a tomb. The concept of a sunken garden attached to a tomb was later found manifestation at Akbar's Tomb and at the Taj Mahal.

The discovery is significant as it shed light on the grandeur of the tombs, rising above the gardens and overlooking the trees and the landscaping. Over the years gardens have come up at the level of the monuments, however the garden at Isa Khan’s tomb revealed that originally gardens used to be three to four feet below the monument with the tomb sitting high.

The ongoing restoration work also threw up underlying archaeology, including building elements such as finials of the dome and canopies and terracotta toys, all of which have immense historical relevance.

The restoration work of the Isa Khan's Tomb is being carried out by the AKTC in partnership with the Archaeological Survey of India and with co-funding from the World Monuments Fund.

About Isa khan

History remembers Isa Khan finds as a brave and valiant noble under Sher Shah Suri, the Afghan ruler who had overthrown Humayun. His tomb built in 1547 is octagonal in shape and has exceptional decorative detailing.