The Vast Reach of Drystone (and the internet)
Drystone is such an integral and global cultural phenomenon that in 2018 it was inscribed in UNESCO’s list of ‘The Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’. This list is to aid in the preservation of intanglible cultural heritages worldwide and also to bring awareness to these practices.
Although specific drystone practices and terminology can vary widely from country to country (and even county to county), the basic principles of drystone remain the same across the world.
I’ve written before about how I fell in love with drystone as a child in the far north of Scotland. Walls there were made mostly of flagstone and although double-skinned walls were common, so were a single line of vertical flagstone sheets used as a boundary. Seeing those spiny ridges cutting across the landscape often made me think I was witnessing the very bones of the earth. I suppose I was.
Until recently I’d never seen this sort of jagged flagstone boundary anywhere else. You see, wall styles vary between places because the type of stone that is available will largely dictate the structure and look of the wall. There are similarities between cultures that worked with thinner stone like flagstone/slate and cultures who use, for example, volcanic stone. I find this is a particularly fascinating visual element of the craft.
Before I began walling I think I applied the traditional Scottish style of drystone to all drystone. As I became aware of the wonderful complexities of the craft I found my mind wandering to drystone in far off places. One of these places was Pakistan.
I am Scottish and I am mixed race. I was born in the central belt of Scotland but my family are from all over the place (namely Pakistan and Norway) and I feel great connection to these places despite never having travelled there.
Of course I googled the drystone in Norway and actually knew some people who had worked there but finding information on the drystone in Pakistan proved far more difficult. I was aware of Taxila, a UNESCO heritage site, which has the most amazing stonework. In fact, the stonework in Taxila looks similar to the sole image of drystone I found on google that could be directly attributed to Pakistan and so, with no other information, that style became my benchmark for drystone there. This all changed recently after I received a message on Instagram.
Of course I am always a little cautious when receiving a message online from a man I do not know (I am a woman on the internet after all) but he was straightforward and simply sent me images of drystone. As we got talking it transpired that this man was a huge fan of drystone, was from Pakistan and the images I was seeing were of walls from his rural area. What are the chances? Apparently a lot higher than I ever would have expected.
To others this may seem like such a small thing but to have this (pretty niche) link with a person in a country that I already feel so much connection to is pretty incredible. It’s also a connection to my heritage and part of me that is hard for me to explore fully. My friend in Pakistan had no idea of my family ties to his country before messaging me and was also surprised, I think, to discover this commonality. Below are the images he sent me.
Image Credit to @rajaasif501 on Instagram
Image Credit to @rajaasif501 on Instagram
The three layers of through stones in these walls makes me think that they are very tall. Of course, it may also be a stylistic choice. The stone looks rough and is used in whatever way it can, built in a ‘random’ style (see our glossary for drystone terminology) and from what I can see not really sticking to the rules of drystone that I have learned.
Of course, I say that with very little real information, I am simply guessing. After all, Pakistan is a huge and diverse country, I imagine that diversity applies to the stone and drystone techniques too. I would love to see more examples of Pakistan’s regional drystone, to know about the stone used in different regions and to see how that influences the style of the walls.
I have many questions and have been assured there will be more photos of drystone as soon as my friend can take them, so I will wait to bombard him with my questions ;)
Anyway, I just wanted to share this wee story of drystone and connection because whilst I use the internet and like most of us, rely on the internet, I would not say that I am a huge fan of the internet. It was pretty great to have such a positive interaction and experience the vast reach of the internet (and drystone) first hand.