Locking the maps in

KOCHI: A group of cartographers and youngsters under the conservation division of the Archives Department are busy working on the scientific conservation and digitisation of over 3,000 cartographic maps possessed by the department. Cartographic maps were used for demarcating boundaries and navigation in the past. The digitisation is being done by the Kerala Museum. “This is a first-of-its-kind initiative. Our aim is to conserve the maximum number of maps with the Archives Department, which has the largest collection of maps after the Survey Department,” said Rejikumar J, director of Archives Department. 

The total cost of the project is `69 lakh. Boundary, geographical, handwritten, railway and postal maps of different sizes dating all the way back to the 19th century are part of the collection. One of the oldest being the 1867 lithographic map of Southern Travancore. The Travancore British boundary maps demarcating Travancore from areas that were governed by the British are also being worked on. 

Postal maps which demarcate the locations of post offices in Travancore, district maps with boundaries; political maps which include constituent assemblies, parliament and assembly segments; wetland and river maps are also being conserved.

The process
Maps are available in both heterogeneous and homogeneous forms and are made of paper and cloth. While some are found embedded within the records or reinforced using cloth, few are wooden hanging maps. “Since the maps are made from different homogeneous and heterogeneous materials, it is a huge challenge to conserve it,” said Shibu N, superintendent of the department.