The archaeological site of Thatta and the necropolis of Makli hill testify in an outstanding manner to the civilization of sindh from the 14th to the 18th centuries. Within the broad family of Islamic monuments, those of Thatta represent a particular type, notable for the fusion of diverse influences into a local style. The tombs and gravestones spread over the cemetery are material documents marking the social and political history of Sindh.
Makli hill is located in 24.753589° North and 67.899783° East, on the periphery of Thatta. It is the one of the largest necropolises in the world, with a diameter of approximately 8 kilometers; Makli hill is supposed to be the burial place of some 125,000 sufi saint. It is located on the outskirts of Thatta, the capital of lower Sindh until the seventeenth century, in what is the south-eastern province of present-day Pakistan. It was inscribed on the World Heritage List (sites) in October 1981 under the name, Historical Monuments of Thatta.
Thatta is famous for its necropolis, which covers 10 Km (6 square miles) on the Makli Hill, which assumed its quasi-sacred character during Jam Nizamud Din’s rule. The site become closely interlinked with the lives of the people. Every year thousand peoples perform pilgrimage to this site to commemorate the saints buried here. The graves testify to a period of four centuries when Thatta was a thriving centre of trade, religion and scholarly pursuits and the capital of Sindh.
In 1768, Thatta's pre-eminence was usurped by Hyderabad. Though many of the mausoleums and graves are dilapidated, many are still exquisite architectural examples with fine stone carving and glazed tile decoration. How the name of Makli was positioned on this hill? Its acceptable and conventional circumstance is not known. The confusion of the exact name of Makli hill also prevails. According to “Tuhafat-ul-Karam” it is related that a saint on his way to Mecca incidentally stayed on this hill. He was so captivated by the beauty of this place that he fell in a trance and began to squeal in Arabic “Haza Makka li; Haza Makka li” i.e. this is Mecca for me. The saint’s words began to be pronounced Makli by the people, there after it continues to be known by this name to this day. However, this episode is only based on religious presumption, but historically it has not been proven. As such a different narrative is also cited, that a saint and pious woman Mai Makli is buried to one side of the Jama Masjid of Makli hill. Her name was firstly given to only Jama Masjid and then to the entire hill by Saint Shaikh Hamad Jamali. Though possibly and this opinion is in the region of creadible that the name of Makli hill is borrowed from the Maha Kali, which with the ravages of times corrupts to the word Makli. The temple of Maha Kali was on the southern dejection or depression of the hill, and also Maha Kali Devi’s shrine in a cave on the Makli Hills evidently of more recent date. It was magnificent Hindu temple and decorated internally with glazed tiles. There also prevailed a tradition that such a temple existed on hill long time ago. Renowned scholar, Bhirumal Mehrchand Adwani described that temple and had given evidence of that Temple and also had corroborated this version of the name of hill. Today, Makli Hill is a United Nations World Heritage Site that is visited by both pilgrims and tourists.
