TYPES OF LANDMARKS:

INDUSTRIAL
GEOLOGICAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL ARCHITECTURE LANDSCAPE
& TECHNICAL
LANDMARKS LANDMARKS LANDMARKS LANDMARK
LANDMARKS

Geological landmarks
Geological landmarks is object with certain, comparatively small
area with certain location which causes interest due to its
geological properties.
• Caves
• Outcrops and cliffs
• Boulders
• Springs
• Waterfalls
• Other geological and geomorphological landmarks

Cultural landmarks
Archaeological landmarks
In the class of archaeological landmarks there are included
monuments of human past.
• Fortifications
• Ancient burials (includes ancient graveyards)
• Medieval castles
• Medieval churches
• Ancient settlements
• Underground passages
• Worship sites

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Architecture landmarks
The name of class is simplified because it includes also industrial
landmarks, immovable landmarks of technics and also large sized
artworks which can not be considered to be buildings. 
• Cemetery architecture landmarks
• Churches
• Temples
• Farmstead constructions
• Historical taverns
• Manor centre buildings
• Monuments
• Monuments of urban development
• Palaces and manor houses
• School buildings
• Urban apartment houses
Industrial and technical landmarks
Major part of included landmarks are also valuable landmarks
of architecture and the "classical" architecture landmarks
have interesting technological.  
• Bridges
• Industrial buildings
• Mills
• Railway constructions
• Water supply management constructions
Landscape landmarks
Landmarks pertaining to contain natural beauty man made or
artificially are included.
• Observation points
• Parks and gardensnts
• Linear landscape monuments
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DUTCH, ARMENIAN AND ENGLISH CEMETERIES:

SURAT’S CITY EXPANSION BEYOND THE HISTORY WALLED HISTORIC LANDMARK AROUND SURAT MAIN CITY
CITY

• The local life nowadays thrives in a mix of cultural inheritance. While a historic settlement called Rander to the North-
West of Tapi River, traces its existence back to the flourishing years of the Mughal empire in the 15th century in its
typical traditional houses and streets; the East of the river tells a different story from a later time.
• This site forms the main historic centre of Surat city with two different old wall fortifications. In about a radius of 2.5
km, lie the major historic landmarks of the city today.
• With a Surat Castle from the Portuguese-Mughal era, to caravanserais of the trading days, remains of a Dutch
warehouse and mansion converted into local government offices, a Dutch garden and a street named after Dutch and
to libraries, institutes, houses from the British colonial regime - the historic centre of Surat constitutes to be one of
great interest.
• Amongst all the major heritage landmarks in Surat, the most striking historic sites that attract a great number of
heritage enthusiasts and tourists are the Dutch, Armenian and English Cemeteries.

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DUTCH, ARMENIAN AND ENGLISH CEMETERIES:
• The Dutch Cemetery in Surat traces its origins to mid-
seventeenth century and was used until mid-19 century.
• The site has been mentioned in many accounts of travellers
and merchants that arrived to Surat.
• The VOC was based in the city centre of Surat around the
castle with a warehouse and a few rented merchant houses.
An entire land for a cemetery was the only space they owned
for use beyond trade.
• The land sanctioned by the Mughal empire in the region to
build the cemetery within the walled city is a surprising fact on
its own.
• While the English Cemetery stands just a few meters away
from the Dutch and the Armenian ones, it was built right
outside the old city's fortification walls.
LOCATION OF THE CEMETRY IN THE CENTAL ZONE • The Dutch Cemetery site sits in the central zone on the
Northern side of the city and covers an area of about 3405 sq.
with a perimeter of about 247m. While it shares the compound
wall with the Armenian cemetery, the complex makes up a
total area of about 6013 sq.The site is surrounded by 5-6
storied buildings that share the compound wall.
• The compound walls are about 400 mm thick and as one were
to proceed to the site from the adjacent road -one would
notice the tomb of Van Rheede being the tallest structure as
well as the main gate first. The main gate has a slope which
gives the impression that the site is raised on a plinth of about
2 m high. The compound walls vary in all directions but are
about 3m tall.
LOCATING THE CEMETRY

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DUTCH, ARMENIAN AND ENGLISH CEMETERIES:

• The site has a number of trees and open spaces in between

tombs that show traces of attempted levelling As one enters
through the new small gate of the site there is an ASI sign
board written in English and Gujarati that informs in brief about
the site and its history and showcases the protection status of
the site.
• Dutch today have a total of 44 tombs and graves. Although a
lot of empty places on the site shows the possibility of some
other graves in the pockets which might be absent today. The
tombs in their shadows showcase the possibility of one
spending their leisurely afternoons under them.
• All the tombs were counted, inventoried and hand measured to
create single line drawings to justify the study of the state of
MAP OF SURAT IN 1720
conservation today. The inventory can be found in the annex.
The site faces the threats of losing character due to natural
weathering and deliberate vandalism.
• The broken debris is collected on one corner of the site. Since
the site sits in close proximity to a primary road, the tombs
have black crusting. Some structures show structural
damages. The tombs in the extreme corners show
deterioration due to vegetation. Most of the graves have lost
their epitaphs today.

EVOLUTION OF THE CEMETRY

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DUTCH, ARMENIAN AND ENGLISH CEMETERIES:

DUTCH CEMETERY

ARMENIAN CEMETERY

SITE SHOWING THE MONUMENTS MARKED ALONG SIDE VEGETATION

SLOPE

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DUTCH, ARMENIAN AND ENGLISH CEMETERIES:

• Double Storeyed Domed Tomb - As the name suggests, it is

evident that this type of tomb has two storeys. The Mughal
architectural features are very interestingly used to build
the tomb. Presumably, the size and location of the tombs in
the cemetery portrays the importance of the person buried.
(Tombs: 1, 3 and 10}
• Single Storeyed Domed Tomb - We notice that these tombs
are single storey, ground floor structures. This is the second
most common type to be found in the cemetery. Although,
these tombs maintain the Mughal architectural language
through the domes, finials, motifs and so on. They are
placed more centrally than near the periphery. (Tombs: 2, 4,
9, 11, 19, 22, 23, 25, 29]
• Obelisk - Obelisks are monolithic solid forms, consisting of
two parts. First, a bulky base, and second, a tapering top.
Even though the obelisks do not seem to follow the
common architectural language, they possess a peculiar
characteristic . The solid mass is as tall as the Type 1 and
Type 2 tombs, which is taller than usual obelisks and is not
normally seen in the Orthodox Christian/European
Churches.(Tombs: 7, 8, 12, 14, 17, 18, 20, 34)
• Simple Gravestone - A simple gravestone is a solid block, or
cenotaphst00, extruded from the ground. The maximum
number of tombs in the cemetery is simple gravestones.
Many of these solid masses are carved in a way that greatly
resemble the cenotaphs of distinguished Mughal tombs.
(Tombs: 5, 6, 13, 15, 16, 21, 26,27, 28,30, 31, 32, 33, 35,36,
37/ABCDE, 38/AB, 39, 40)

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DUTCH, ARMENIAN AND ENGLISH CEMETERIES:
THE SITE AND MONUEMENTS

SITE AND THE MONUMENTS TODAY

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DUTCH, ARMENIAN AND ENGLISH CEMETERIES:
URBAN SCENARIO:
• The land use plan of the city's development plan from 2035 shows the dutch and armenian cemetery site as
'residential'.
• The ratio of unbuilt and built ratio within the regulated boundaries of the site show the density of buildings and the
lack of open spaces.

THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2035 UN-BUILT BUILT

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DUTCH, ARMENIAN AND ENGLISH CEMETERIES:
Existing condtions around the site in terms of use and
activity are pointed out in the map below. Three different
types of residential buildings were identified that surround
the cemetery. Type A. is the informal settlements extending
up to 2 storeyed heights and are developed right above the
cemetery's compound wall. The encrochment on the North-
East corner of the cemetery is the highes as the house
surround the relatively empty area of the site. Primary road
running under a flyover on the West side of the cemetery
and an immediate connecting secondary road passing by the
cemetery are busy vehicular streets. The secondary road is
one of the few wide roads in the neighbourhood. A
pedestrian pathway passes by two difffernt types of housing
developments adjacent to the cemetery. Type B residences
are private houses subletting newcomers with rooms to rent.
Most of the houses of type B belongs to a relatively older
community from about 70 years ago, most of which has now
MAP SHOWING SURROUNDING CONTEXT OF THE CEMETRY moved to the suburbs of the city. The Type C are five to
eight storied structures that hover over the cemetery
blocking the vista of the cemetery from within the prohibited
zone. The Type F is a commercial textile factory that opens
at 8am and closes at 6pm, a constant noise to the ambience
of the cemetery. Most of the type C buildings are mixed in
use with their ground floors as shops or private businesses
that open towards the street. There is only one open spaces
Type E. which is often used as playground for permitted
cricket matches, although as per the Development plan of
2035, the playground is marked for future development by
SUDA
IMAGES SHOWING THE CONTEXT AROUND SITE

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DUTCH, ARMENIAN AND ENGLISH CEMETERIES:
Social perspectives

With the urban developments around, the view of the site is

blocked from all the potential sides leading to main roads.
Apart from a lack of hygiene and planned infrastructure, the
secondary road running adjacent to the site houses a make-
shift garage (A) by the main gate of the cemetery. Multiple
auto-rickshaws, cars and two-wheelers from around the
neighbourhood remain parked in queues or in a haphazard
arrangement spread around the street. The secondary road,
as it turns around the south-east corner of the site, is a usual
afternoon and evening retreat spot for men of the ages 40
and above. They pull out chairs and sit in the 'chowk. Some
children, mostly males are seen on this periphery. Although,
MAP SHOWING ASI BUFFER ZONE AROUND DUTCH,ARMENIAN
AND ENGLISH CEMETERIES. often young girls and women are seen chatting on the stairs
of the shops along the street. Women hangout by these
'modern verandas' while the cemetery and the tombs do not
attract them to the site due to the insecurities generated in
the atmosphere. Only men and boys are seen playing cricket
in the pockets of the cemetery. In most hidden tombs of the
site in the northernmost corner, is the space for a usual
afternoon gathering of men in their twenties smoking and
drinking, or playing cards. The people on the site do not
come from the immediate neighbourhood but travel about
2kms to spend time at the cemetery. While women still
CONSTRUCTION OVER THE remain at the periphery, some women from the adjacent
COMPOUND WALL OF THE building plant curry leaves in the small garden in the west
CEMETERY. corner, and often come to pick the leaves in company of their
THE ONLY SIGN. WITHIN
THE SITE PROTECTING husbands.
THE ENTRANCE

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DUTCH, ARMENIAN AND ENGLISH CEMETERIES:
They occupy the pedestrian closed street and have their evening
teas together often chatting away, spending leisurely afternoons
while cleaning their pulses or doing embroidery. The women
when asked if they would like to spend time at the cemetery,
responded their desire to do so, only when the present activities
on site could be stopped and if lesser men could come to the
site, they would feel comfortable using the cemetery as their
neighbourhood space. On the northern corner of the site, an
open space, is being used as a garbage dump alongside a pile
of broken pieces from the tombs in a debris (B). The garbage is
often burned on the site in the open space around the obelisk.
The ambience of the cemetery is taken over majorly by the noise
from the textile factory(C) sharing a wall with the cemetery's
compound in the north-west corner, The volume of the noise
generated, makes the cemetery even less desirable to spend
quality time at.140

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DUTCH, ARMENIAN AND ENGLISH CEMETERIES:
Urban adaptability

In direct context, as the regulated buffer zones for heritage protection are considered, the concentration of improving
the urban infrastructure can be achieved. The cemetery is directly connected to a primary connecting road, this gives
scope to improve the access to the site through public transport. In improvising a tourism infrastructure on the streets
that lead to the cemetery, more visitors can be attracted. The immediate surroundings of the cemetery if focused for
revival alongside the conservation of the protected site, a balance can be achieved in deriving the Dutch Cemetery in
its historic open space as an iconic landmark in the neighbourhood. The resident in the neighbourhood may not be
appealed to enter the gates today because of the haphazard use of the street as a garage, parking and unhygienic
dumping of scrap iron right against the compound wall and the gates. As SMC does not have a decision-making
stake or a development stake on the cemetery as an ASI protected site, as local authorities with SUDA, the urlsh
scenario outside the cemetery can be revived. For the resident, once a revival of the main street is achieved, a
general invitation to the open gates of a revived cemetery can then be achieved. The street outside the cemetery in
order to become a safe landmark place for the neighbourhood communities, should have general seating amenities,
plantations, garbage bins, street lighting and organized parking spaces. The community through a use of a directly
associated street of the cemetery may then feel easily connected to the cemetery, not just as tombs, but an integral
part of their daily life contributing to the improvement of their quality of life today.

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