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RECENT FINDINGS FROM THE MAJOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND

CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH APPROACHES IN BANGLADESH ARCHAEOLOGY.

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 Şarkiyat ICSS’17

Uluslararası Sosyal Bilimler Kongresi/International Congress of Social

Science

Şarkiyat ICSS’17

International Congress of Social Science

Uluslararası Sosyal Bilimler Kongresi Tam Metin Bildiriler Kitabı

14-17 Eylül/September 2017

Diyarbakır

Editörler:

Mehmet Bilen

Fuat İstemi

Bayram Kanarya

Veysel Gürhan
 Şarkiyat Bilim ve Hikmet Vakfı Yayınıdır

Yenişehir Yıldız Sokak No: 5 21100

Yenişehir/Diyarbakır

Editörler:

Mehmet Bilen

Fuat İstemi

Bayram Kanarya

Veysel Gürhan

14-17 Eylül tarihlerinde Şarkiyat Vakfı, Şarkiyat Araştırmaları Derneği ve e-Şarkiyat

İlmi Araştırmalar Dergisi tarafından Diyarbakır‟da tertiplenen Uluslararası Sosyal
Bilimler Kongresi‟nde sunulan bildirilerin tam metinlerini içermektedir.

Aralık 2017

ISBN: 978-605-67961-1-1
 RECENT FINDINGS FROM THE MAJOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND
CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH APPROACHES IN BANGLADESH

ARCHAEOLOGY.

Mohammad Mahmudul Hasan KHAN

Abstract
Bengal, the deltaic region of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers, is the
easternmost harbour on the Indian subcontinent. Although the name is relatively new
among the nation states in the contemporary world, human occupation in the present
Bangladesh region goes back to the Prehistoric Age. In ancient times, the Bengal delta
was known to the Greek and Roman world as Gangaridai and was chronicled by the
invading army of Alexander the Great in 325 BCE. The ancient people of Bengal were
different in race, civilization and linguistic communication from the Aryans who
compiled the Vedic literature. The area's early history highlighted a succession of
Indian empires, internal power struggle, and a scrimmage between Hinduism and
Buddhism for ascendency. Islam was transmitted to Bengal both by land and water by
the Arabs and the Turks respectively. Islam actually was entered as a concept of
governance into Bengal by the Turkish conquerors Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1204 CE.
During the last four decades after independence of Bangladesh, however, there are
new archaeological approaches that reviled the glorious legacy of Ancient, Early
Medieval and Medieval (Muslim) reigns in Bengal delta. This research is aimed to
give new evidence on Bangladesh Archaeology as well as focus on the contemporary
research approaches in Bangladesh Archaeology.

Key Words; Bangladesh Archaeology, Hinduism and Buddhism, Baktiyar Khilji,

research approaches, recent findings.


This article is an enlarged version of the notification presented in summary at Şarkiyat ICSS'17 the Congress of
the International Congress of Social Sciences, organized between 14-17 September 2017.

Ph.D. researcher at Department of Archaeology at Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey.
e-mail- smkhanju@gmail.com
BANGLADEŞ'DEKI BAŞLICA ARKEOLOJIK ALANLARDAN VE ÇAĞDAŞ
ARAŞTIRMA YAKLAŞIMLARINDAN ELDE EDILEN SON BULGULAR.

Özet
Ganges, Brahmaputra ve Meghna nehirlerinin delta bölgesi olan Bengal, Hindistan
kıtasının en doğusunda bulunan yerleşim yeridir. Çağdaş dünyada ulus devletler
arasında bu isim nispeten yeni olsa da, bugünkü Bangladeş bölgesindeki insan
yerleşimi Tarih Öncesi Çağ'a kadar uzanıyor. Antik çağlarda, Bengal deltası Yunan ve
Roma dünyasında Gangaridai olarak biliniyordu ve M.Ö. 325'de Büyük İskender'in
işgal ordusu tarafından keşfedildi. Eski zamanlarda yaşamış Bengal insanları, Vedik
edebiyatını derleyen Aryalılardan farklı bir ırka, medeniyete ve dil özelliklerine
sahipti. Bölgenin erken tarihindeki önemli unsurlar, hüküm süren Hint imparatorluğu,
iç güç mücadelesi ve Hinduizm ile Budizm arasındaki egemenlik yarışıdır. İslam
sırasıyla hem Araplar hem de Türkler tarafından kara ve deniz yolu ile Bengal'e ulaştı.
Aslında İslam, 1204'te Türk fatihi Bakhtiyar Khilji tarafından Bengal'e bir devlet
yönetimi olarak girdi. Bununla birlikte, Bangladeş'in bağımsızlığından sonraki son 40
yıl boyunca, Bengal delta'da Eskiçağ, Erken Ortaçağ ve Ortaçağ (Müslüman)
hükümdarlarinin görkemli mirasını kötüleyen yeni arkeolojik yaklaşımlar var. Bu
araştırmanın amacı, Bangladeş Arkeolojisi üzerine yeni kanıtlar sunmanın yanı sıra
Bangladeş Arkeolojisinde çağdaş araştırma yaklaşımlarına odaklanmaktır.
Anahtar kelimeler; Bangladeş Arkeoloji, Hinduizm ve Budizm, Bakhtiyar Khilji,
Araştırma yaklaşımları, Son bulgular.

Introduction:
Diverse cultures and civilization came into the Bengal deltaic region. Several races
entered into the Indian subcontinent from the pre-historic times through the North
West of the Indian and settled there until they were driven further east. Bengal was
possibly the wealthiest part of the Indian-subcontinent from the ancient period and
onwards. Lying at the crossroads of the South-East Asia and the Central Asia, Bengal
continually attracted people from the early civilizations of the fertile crescent: Middle
East, China, and Europe, as well as from the South India. The ancient people of
Bengal were originated of the different racial component. The original aborigines of
Bengal were non-Aryan and the early tribes of the Bengal were the Dravidian but
belonged to a separate family. During the ancient period, the Vanga and the Pundra
were two powerful tribes in the Bengal. Ancient Bengali people also established
colonies on the islands of the Indian Ocean and in Southeast Asia. They also had
strong trade links with Persia, Arabia and the Mediterranean that focused on its
lucrative cotton muslin textiles. In the ancient time, Bengal was famous for a maritime
country where trading ships came from the different parts of the world. The maritime
warfare, boat building, river and sea crafts developed because of a large number of
rivers and the long seashore. During the early history, the Bengal appeared a
succession of the various empires of the Indian subcontinent, internal power struggle,
and a scrimmage between the Hinduism and the Buddhism for dominance. Ancient
Bengal was the site of various major Janapadas 1 (kingdoms), while the earliest cities
date back to the Vedic period.
As reported by the archaeological discovery, some Muslim Sufi-saints, Muslim
traders, and businessmen came to the Bengal from the Arab even before the political
invasion, but Islam truly arrived into the Bengal as a concept of governance in the
very beginning of the 13th century CE by the Turkish military general Muhammad
Bakhtiyar Khalji (Haque, 1984, pp.18). So broadly speaking, the Muslim rulers of
Bengal belonged to three racial groups- the Turks, the Afghans and the Mughals. The
last were originally linked with the Turks. Bangladesh is the present day a Muslim
majority country; almost 90% of her inhabitants belong to the Islamic reliance.

Brief Chronological history of Bangladesh:

Bangladesh came to present day through a long history of political, religious and
cultural evolution from ancient to the modern age. The history of Bangladesh can be
divided into five major periods such as the Early history, Early Medieval, Medieval
(Sultani & Mughal), Colonial and Modern period. In the ancient period, Bengal ruled
by the different Dynasty or Kingdome. In the Medieval period, Bengal came under the
Muslim regime from the very beginning of the 13th century to the middle of the 18th
century CE. The brief Chronological history of Bangladesh is flowing. The
Chandragupta Maurya was established the Maurya empire in the 4th century BCE in
the Indian subcontinent that was one of the greatest empires of the world in its time.
During the reign of the Maurya empire (c. 322 to 187 BCE) the ancient city
pundravardhana (modern day, in the northwestern part of Bangladesh) was an
administrative unit of the Maurya dynasty/Pundra Kingdom. After the Maurya empire,
the northwestern part of Bangladesh was ruled by the Gupta dynasty (321 CE–550
CE) which was established in the beginning of the 4th century CE. The Gupta
kingdoms period regarded as a golden age of India (Majumdar, 1971, pp. 69). A stone

1
The Janapadas were the realms, republics and kingdoms of the Indian Vedic period (about 1500 BCE
to the 6th century BCE).The Sanskrit term Janapada means (Janas „tribe‟ and Pada „foot‟) „land of
people‟ which was ruled by a regional emperor.
inscription was found from the reign of the Samudra Gupta, that tell us the Samatat
and the Pushkaran is two independent states. While the Samatat referred to the East
Bengal, the Pushkaran meant the West Bengal2. After the decline of the Gupta Empire
in the 6th century CE, Bengal was ruled by three independent local kingdoms: the
Vanga, the Samatata, and the Gaura. In the 606 CE, the independent king Shasanka
became the ruler of Gauda Kingdom and successfully united many parts of Bengal
into one kingdom with a capital at Karnasubarna (Majumdar, 1971, pp. 71). During his
regime, Bengal became known as an independent country, but after his death, it
disintegrated into smaller states. After the death of the Shasanka Bengal saw very little
of stable government and the whole country was faced with internal political conflict
and attacked by invasions from outside. About a century, (650 to 750 CE) was marked
by political chaos, anarchy, and anomie. During the period of anarchy, Gopal was
selected as a king by a group of feudal chieftains. Then in the middle of the 8th
century CE, Gopala established the Pala Dynasty, ruled Bengal for almost four
hundred years through many vicissitudes (Ray, 1931-36, pp. 275-80). In the other
hand, the Deva Dynasty ruled in the (Samatat) southeastern part of Bangladesh in the
8th century CE with a capital at Devaparvata in the Mainamati-Lalmai area. The Devas
were Buddhists religion backed and they patronaged Buddhist religion as well as
established numerous Buddhists Vihara (monastery) in the Comilla-Mainamati region.
In the 9th century CE, the Harikela kingdom was emerging in the Comilla-
Chittagong region of the eastern and southeastern part Bangladesh (Chawdhury, 1967,
pp. 145-50). After the decline of the Pala Empire, Hemanta Sena founded the Sena
dynasty at the end of the 11th century CE. The Sena Empire was a completely Hindu
dynasty, who originally came from Karnataka of the South India. The Sena kings
patronaged as well as developed the Sanskrit literature in Bengal (Chawdhury, 1967,
pp. 204-15).
In the very beginning of the 13th century Ikhtiyaruddin Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khalji
(died 1206), who was a Turkish military general made a sudden attack and conquered
Nabadwip in the southwestern part of Bangladesh, capital of the Sena king
Laksmanasen (Karim, 1959, pp. 17-19). He then captured the Gaura, the principal
capital city of Bengal. Islam first entered into the Bengal by the Turkish conquerors as
a concept of governance in 1204 CE. After the death of Bakhtiyar Khalji, his
successor ruled the Bengal under the Delhi Sultanate till 1338 CE (Eaton, 1984, pp.
25). Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah first declared himself the independent Muslim sultan

2
Bengal was partitioned along religious lines. The western part went to India (and was named West
Bengal) while the eastern part joined Pakistan as a province called East Bengal (later renamed East
Pakistan, giving rise to Bangladesh in 1971). Even today, Bengal is called West Bengal even though it
is in the Eastern India.
in Bengal in the Sonargaon. Then in the middle of the 14th century, Shamsuddin Ilyas
Shah established first independent Bengal sultanate that continued for two hundred
years' (1338-1538) and he united the whole of Bengal, comprising the Sonargaon, the
Satgaon, and the Lakhnauti (Karim, 1959, pp. 26-29 & Eaton, 1984, pp.27).
After the fall of the Bengal sultanate, Bengal came under the Mughal rule in the last
quarter of the 16th century CE. The Mughal Emperor tried to superintend over the
Bengal fixing Subedar (governor) from Delhi. The local Rajas (Kings), Bara-
Bhuiyans3 (twelve regional landholders) and the Zamindars (Landlords) who have
shown up turbulent resistance to the Mughal regime in the different territorial area of
Bengal. After the decline of the territorial ruler, Bengal was ruled as a Subah
(province) of the Mughal Empire. The Bengal Nawab Murshid Kuli Khan ended the
nominal Mughal regime in 1717 after the declaration independence from the Mughal
empire. The Bengal Nawab dynasty regime ended up in 1757 when the last Nawab
Siraj Ud- Dawla was killed at the Battle of Plashey. Later, at the Battle of Plashey the
British East India Company conquered official control over the Bengal in 1757.
Subsequently, the demise of the British Empire in 1947, Bengal was partitioned as a
province of the West Pakistan with being renamed as East Pakistan. In 1971, Bengal
gained the independence from the Pakistan.

History of archaeological research in Bangladesh

In the context of Indian Archaeology as a whole, the archaeology of undivided Bengal
appeared with a general indifference. The 'Bengal' (West Bengal and Bangladesh) has
long been known to Indologists and antiquarians for its rich archaeological sources
dating from prehistoric to later historical times (Chattopadhyay, & Sanyal 2005-06, pp.
1377-91). Basically, Archaeological research history of Bengal started after the
European colonization in the last quarter of eighteen century. The first systematic
archaeological research started into Indian's history by establishing the Asiatic Society
in Kolkata, which was founded by the British Indologist William Jones in 1784. The
society promoted the study of ancient Sanskrit and Persian texts and published an
annual journal titled Asiatic Researches. However, the one of the important
achievement of the Society inaugurated the study of Indian palaeography with the
work of James Prinsep. He was the first decipherment of the Brahmi script in 1837.
The establishment of the Museum of the Society in 1814 added a new archaeological

3
The term Bara-Bhuiyans means twelve territorial landholders. Bara-Bhuiyans were the local chiefs
and zamindars of Bengal, who put up strong resistance to the Mughals during the regime of Empiror
Akbar and Jahangir.
„label‟ to the activities of the Society (Chattopadhyay, & Sanyal 2005-06, pp. 1377-
91).
Between 1830 and 1861, the history of archaeological research in Bengal was
conducted more or less by the works of European and Bengali filed workers involved
in the Asiatic Society. It should be noted here that the Asiatic Society continued the
field surveys from the middle of the nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries with a
specific focus on the identification of the ancient cities of Bengal in the light of
literary sources.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI hereinafter) was founded by Sir Alexander
Cunningham (1814-1893) in 1861. He first started interrelated studies based on textual
and archaeological data with emphases on the identification of ancient sites formed the
major focus of his works in Bengal (Chattopadhyay, & Sanyal 2005-06, pp. 1377-91).
The Varendra Anusandhan Samiti or Varendra Research Society (1910-1963) was
established in Rajshahi in the Southeastern part of Bangladesh, by some scholar of art
history and Antiquarian in 1910 (Chowdhury, 2012). The Varendra Research Society
promoted archaeological research in Bengal by the conducting excavation in Paharpur
and Mahasthangar as well as a collection of different artefacts. The Varendra Research
Museum of the Society (VRS) soon became the house of one of the richest collections
of archaeological artefacts from different parts of Bengal.
Earlier in 1932 an amendment to the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904, had
allowed academic institutions and private organizations to conduct their own
excavation programmes. Subsequently, many Antiquarian, as well as private
institutions conducted the archaeological excavation and exploration in different part
of Bangladesh.
The history of research on the archaeology of this region can be divided into two parts:
to the first group belong works that have established a proper historical chronology
and a comprehensive social and political history for the region involving detailed
studies on literary and epigraphic contents. The second group of works, on the other
hand, primarily deals with the „antiquarian‟ remnant and documentation of epigraphic
materials from different parts of Bengal.

Recent findings from the major archaeological sites of Bangladesh

After the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, some new scientific methods and new
research progress have been done by some native archaeologists as well as national
and international institutions. For example, a team from Jahangirnagar University has
conducted archaeological exploration in the Comilla-Chittagong region of the eastern
part of Bangladesh, under the guidance of Dilip K Chakrabarti in 1989 (Chakrabarti,
2007, pp. 2-3). They have found different Neolithic stone tools, fossil wood and
located a number of prehistoric sites. In 1991, the Directorate of Archaeology,
Bangladesh, conducted another archaeological exploration in the Mainamoti-Lalmai
hill tract, recovered a large number of prehistoric artifacts made of silicified fossil
wood (Ahsan, 2007, pp.21-22). The Jahangirnagar University‟s Archaeology
Department was also conducting an ethnoarchaeological study of the Megalithic
culture at Jaintiya in Sylhet of the Northeastern part of Bangladesh.
Department of Archaeology, Jahangirnagar University has also discovered very
renown site Wari-Bateshwar. The archaeological site of Wari-Bateshwar, located in
the north-eastern part of Bangladesh, has uncovered the remains of a fort city that is
believed to date back to 450 BCE. The site was originally discovered by a local school
teacher in 1933, but official excavation was conducted at the site in 2000 by a team
from Jahangirnagar University‟s Archaeology Department led by Dr. Sufi Mustafizur
Rahman.
The discovery of a number of artefacts, including superb examples of monochrome
glass beads, layered glass beads, stone beads and gold-foil glass beads, rouletted-ware,
knobbed-ware, and punch mark silver coins, have led archaeologists to believe that the
site was once a well planned, ancient emporium (commercial city) of “Sounagora”, as
mentioned by the Greek geographer Ptolemy, in his book titled “Geographia” in the
2nd century CE (Rahman & Pathan, 2012). Also, experts have concluded that the
settlement at Wari-Bateshwar had trading contacts with Rome and Southeast Asiatic
communities (Rahman & Pathan, 2012).
In can be said that, ancient site Wari-Bateshwar was a river port on the bank of the
Old Brahmaputra river. It was a well-protected capital city of a Janapada during 6th -
4th century BC (Rahman & Pathan, 2012). A number of Buddha Vihara (monastery)
was discovered in Wari-Bateshwar that believed, Buddhism was in practice during the
before Christian era that continued till the Early Medieval period.
Mahasthangarh is one of the famed and earliest urban archaeological sites so far
discovered in the northwestern part of Bangladesh. The site was probably founded by
the Maurya Dynasty. The ancientness of the city goes back to 4th century BCE and it
was the ancient capital also administrative headquarters of the Pundra Kingdom
which contains together with different ancient dynasties cultural sequence and
medieval Muslim remnants. Alexander Cunningham first identified these ruins as the
ancient city of Pundranagara in 1879.
The first systematic excavation was conducted at the Mahasthangarh in 1928-29 by
the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) under the guidance of K.N.Dikshit. After
three decades in 1993, a joint venture by Bangladeshi and French archaeologists has
discovered different types of artifacts, including a silver punch-marked coin hoard
with 92 coins, Cast copper coins, Kushana, Gupta and Muslim coins which indicate a
monetary economy and exchange network during the beginning of history in
Bangladesh (Alam, & Salles, 2001). Besides these, archaeological excavation has
discovered large quantities of terracotta plaques, terracotta ring wells, stone and glass
beads, copper and iron objects, and stamped wares, different types of pottery, NBPW
(Northern Black Polished Ware), Black polished ceramic, Rouletted ware, Black and
Red Ware and so on. One of the renowned findings is Mahasthan Brahmi
Inscription (c. 3rd century BCE) that regarded as the earliest epigraphic record in
Bangladesh which was discovered from the Mahasthangar archaeological site (Alam,
2012). A Site Museum established by the Department of Archaeology to exhibit
archaeological findings collected from excavation, which is a major, tourist attraction.
French-Bangladesh joint mission have unearthed eighteen construction layers during
the excavation. The excavation carried out at different times from 1929 to the present
reveal the following cultural sequence:
First period: The remnants of this period represent the pre-Mauryan cultural era. This
was probably the first human occupation on a Pleistocene formation known as the
Barind4 tract in the pre-Mauryan times. Second period: The artefacts of this period are
representing the characteristics of the Mauriyan period. The third period: This is the
post-Mauriyan age covering the Sunga and Kushana periods. Fourth period: The
antiquarian relics of the fourth cultural sequence are representing the Kushan-Gupta
periods. Fifth period: This period represents the Gupta and late Gupta phase. The
phase yielded remains of a massive brick structure of a temple called Govinda Bhita.
Sixth period: This period represents the Pala-Sena phase evidenced by architectural
remains of several sites scattered throughout the eastern side of the city. Seventh
period: This period represents the Muslim phase testified by the architectural remains
of a fifteen-domed mosque and a single domed mosque of the Sultanate period (Alam,
2012). The rampart of the Mahasthangar city, built with burnt bricks, belongs to six
building periods. The earliest one belonged to the Maurya period, whereas the
subsequent ones correspond to the Shunga-Kusana, Gupta, early Pala, late Pala, and
Sultanate periods. These walls were successively built one above the other (Alam,
2012).

4
Barind Tract ( also Varendra Tract or Borendro Bhumi) refers to the largest Pleistocene physiographic
unit of Bengal Basin which covered approximate 10,000 sq km. It has long been recognised as a unit of
Old Alluvium which differs from the surrounding floodplains. This physiographic unit is bounded by
the Karatoya River to the east, the Mahananda River to the west and the northern bank of Ganges to the
south. Mahasthangar is a part of the Barind Tract.
The Mahasthan site was divided into two parts; the Citadel and the Suburb of the
citadel. The Citadel is the rectangular fortified the ancient city, measuring about one
and a half kilometers long from the North to the South, and 1.4 kilometers from the
East to the West, with high and wide ramparts in all sides of the city. In the seventh
century, Chinese traveller Huen Shang mentioned that the perimeter of
“Punduruvardhan”5 was 8 hundred miles. It can be said that the ancient
Mahasthangarh is bearing the socio-cultural, political, economic, trade and commerce
and religious aspects of the different ancient dynasty for the last two and a half
millennia.
Paharpur or Shompura Mohavihara (monastery), is one of the renowned Buddhist
ancient temples in the Indian Subcontinent which situated at Naogaon district in the
northwestern part of Bangladesh. It was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage
Site in 1985. The monastery built by the famous Pala empire Dharmapala (circa 781–
821 CE) of the Pāla Dynasty. Buchanon Hamilton has first noticed the monastery in
1812 and the latter Sir Alexander Cunningham visited the place in 1879. Cunningham
excavated in limited areas on top of the central mound. The first systematic excavation
jointly started in 1922-23 under the auspices of the Archaeological Survey of India,
Varendra Research Society of Rajshahi and University of Calcutta. Afterwards, these
excavations were taken over by the Archaeological Survey of India. After the
independence of Bangladesh in 1971, Department of archaeology, the government of
the People's Republic of Bangladesh has conducted archaeological research
(excavation, restoration, and preservation). They have been discovered huge
quadrangular structure surrounding with 177 cells and a traditional cruciform Buddhist
stupa6 in the centre. The Buddhist monks have used the cells for studying,
accommodation and meditation. Besides these, they unearthed a large number of
stupas and shrines of various sizes and shapes, thousand of terracotta plaques, stone
sculptures, inscriptions, coins, ceramics and so on (Dikshit, 2012).
Department of archaeology, the government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
has conducted an archaeological exploration as well as excavation in the ancient
Buddhist cultural and political centre of the Vanga-Samatata Janapada (ancient
province) of the Lalmai-Mainamoti region in the Southeastern part of Bangladesh. The
Mainamoti is the home of one of the most important Buddhist archaeological sites

5
Pundravardhana ( Land of Pundra tribe) is one of the most significant territorial divisions/kingdome of
ancient Bengal. Mahasthangar is the capital of Pundravardhana, located at Bogra district in the
northwestern part of the Bangladesh.
6
Stupa is a Sanskrit word that means “to heap” or “to pile up” and refers to the mound-like or
hemispherical structure containing relics ( the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a
place of meditation. A related architectural term is a chaitya, which is a prayer hall or temple containing
a stupa.
with more than 50 ancient Buddhist settlements dating approximately from 7th to
12th centuries CE. The Mainamoti site was discovered during the course of
rebuilding the old axial road in 1875. It was rediscovered during the Second World
War while setting up an advance military camp across the ancient remains (Rashid,
2012). First regular and systematic excavations started in 1955-1957, that located
more than 50 sites. The most important excavated site is the Shalvan Vihara, likewise
world heritage Paharpur monastery. The discoveries from the site include eight
inscribed copper plates, about 400 gold and silver coins, many terracottas and baked
clay seals and sealings, a large number of sculptural specimens in stone, bronze, and
terracotta found in situ or otherwise (Rashid, 2012). Another mentionable numismatic
finds from the Mainamoti sites are few Gupta and post-Gupta imitation gold coins, a
rare silver coin of the king Shashanka, about a dozen gold coins of the Khadga ruler
Balabhatta, few Arakanese and hundreds of the Harikela and the Akara dynasty coins,
and one gold, and a few silver coins of the Abbasid Caliphs (Rashid, 2012). It can be
said that the Mainamoti sites had trading contacts with the Middle East as well as the
contemporary different kingdom. Besides these, a number of important Buddhist
Monasteries are the Ananda Vihara, Bhoj Vihara, Mainamoti‟s palace mound, Rupban
Mura, Itkhora Mura, Charpatra Mura, Kutira Mura and so on. All of located in the
Mainamoti-Lalmai region.
An excavation has been going on in the “Fort City” at Bhitargarh in the Panchagarh
district of the northwestern part of Bangladesh. A team has unearthed the remains of
the ancient Buddhist stupa and a temple (7th – 8th century CE) that is believed, it
was part of the ancient trade center and conducted business route with far away
countries such as Sikim, Tibet, Bhutan, China, Nepal, Bihar, West Bengal and
Pundrabardhan by land and waterways (Jahan, 2010, pp. 173-200).
A team of archaeologists from the Department of Archaeology, Jahangirnagar
University started full-coverage surveying in Dinajpur-Joypurhat Districts of the
northwestern part of Bangladesh in 2005 under the guidance of Dr. Sawdin Sen. The
area was part of the sub-region of Bengal known as Varendri (or Pundra and/or
Gauda). Till now, they have recorded more than one thousand locations of past human
activities or „sites‟ and they could be dated from c. seventh century to c. nineteenth
century CE(Sen, 2012). They have conducted archaeological excavations at nine
locations with the aim of understanding the stratigraphy of the sites (and settlements).
They have found three Brahmanical7 Temples, three Buddhist Vihara, a Buddhist
Stupa-shrine, a temple that was converted from a Buddhist temple into Brahmanical

7
Brahmanism is the (Hindu) religion that developed out of the historical Vedic religion in ancient India
(1000-500 BCE), says that people and gods have a relationship of mutual obligation. Humans must
sacrifice to the gods, and gods must act to fulfill the desires of humans.
one. Buddhist monasteries and Viharas had been converted into Hindu temples
hundreds of years ago, and an archaeological team in Bangladesh believes these
temples they recently unearthed will serve as witnesses to this significant
transformation in the region‟s religious and political history (Sen, 2012).
A joint team of archaeologists from Bangladesh and China has unearthed the ancient
Buddhist temple that believed the birth home of Atis Dipankar (982 - 1054 CE), a
renowned Buddhist saint, scholar & philosopher of Tibetan Buddhism about one
thousand years ago. Recently the excavation team has discovered a massive octagonal
stupa and a pair of stupas with a four-meter wide wall and others important artefacts
that believed, these findings would reveal many hitherto unrevealed sides of Atish
Diponkor life as well as the decline of Buddhism in this region.
The Sonargaon (City of Gold) was a historic administrative headquarter, the
commercial and maritime centre of both periods the Kingdom of Vanga or Samatata
and the medieval Muslim Bengal Sultanate of the Eastern Bengal in the 6th century
CE and the 15th century CE respectively. It is located in the core of the Ganges delta in
Narayanganj district, about 27 km. east of the capital city of Dhaka. This region was
famous for its lucrative cotton muslin textiles. In the mid-fourteenth century,
Sonargaon developed into a commercial river port city where a large number of
seafaring boats could easily reach here from the west Asian and the southeast Asian
countries. The Sonargaon was visited and described by many famous historic
travellers, including Ma Huan (1406), Hou Hien (1415), Ibn Battuta (1443), Niccolò
de' Conti and Ralph Fitch (1586) as a rising emporium commercial centre. It was a
medieval Muslim administrative centre of the sultan Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah's
(1338–1349 CE) independent Sultanate of the Bengal. The Arabs and the Turks first
arrive in the Sonargaon area in the 13th century. They were the famed Sufi saint and
Islamic philosophers, came and settled here, then established Mosque, Khanqah, and
Madrasha. Many Sultani Mosques, Khanqah, Madrasha, and tomb were built during
the Sultani period at Mograpara of the Sonargaon. Department of Archaeology of
Bangladesh has conducted archaeological research at the Panam City which located in
Sonargaon area, was established in the late 19th century as a trade and commerce
centre of cotton fabrics during the British regime. In the Panam city, the Hindu cloth
merchants built a large number of residential houses which, influenced by European
(colonial) style. The city was connected with the main city area by three mud burnt
brick bridges – the Panam Bridge, the Dalalpur Bridge and the Panam Nagar Bridge –
during the Mughal period. The bridges are still in use. The Sonargaon site is bearing
the remnants of the Sultani, Mughal and British colonial periods.
An excavation has been going on in the Sixty dome Mosque of the southwestern part
of Bangladesh. It is one of the UNESCO world heritage sites of Bangladesh. They
have found the home of Khan Jahan Ali, who came from Turkey to establish an
Islamic society in 1459 CE. He was a Muslim Sufi Saint and local ruler in this region.
He founded the Muslim society by establishing many Mosques, Madrashas, Khanqas,
digging a large number of Dighis (large pond), built roads and bridges in the Bagerhat
and Jeshore district of the southwestern part of Bangladesh.
Department of Archaeology (DOA), the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of the
Government of the People‟s Republic of Bangladesh recently has conducted
archaeological exploration at Barabazar in Jhenaidah district in the Southwestern part
of Bangladesh. Barabazar was an old township during the Bengal Sultanate period that
is believed „Bara‟ or twelve Muslim Sufi saints settled as well as established Muslim
society. It has a rich history, including many famous mosques of the Sultanate period,
numerous ancient Dhigi (tanks) and cultural mounds lying scattered in and around
Barobazar.
Besides these, the Department Of Archaeology (DOA) the Ministry of Cultural
Affairs of the Government of the People‟s Republic of Bangladesh which is the main
government body for our rich cultural heritage in Bangladesh, has conducted
excavation as well as conservation, restoration, and reconstruction at more than 50
sites in the different area of Bangladesh (GOB, 2016).

Contemporary research approaches in Bangladesh Archaeology

There is no single approach of archaeological research method that has been applied
by all archaeologists. In the Bangladesh Archaeology, various methods and techniques
have been applied from the colonial period and onwards. However, after the European
colonization, archaeological research was officially started in Bengal with the work of
Alexander Cunningham (1814-1893), the founder of the Archaeological Survey of
India (ASI). European especially the British mainly focused on Buddhist and Hindu
architectural remains and archaeological sites with an intention of showing a bad
image of Muslim rulers who was actually overthrown by colonizers. This policy in
archaeological research also helped the colonizers to imply their „divide and rule‟
policy. During the last four decades after independence of Bangladesh, however, there
are new archaeological approaches that reviled the glorious legacy of Ancient, Early
Medieval and Medieval (Muslim) reigns in Bengal delta.
Earlier in 1932 an amendment to the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904, had
allowed academic institutions and private organizations to conduct their own
excavation programmes. Subsequently, many Archaeologists, Art Historian and
Antiquarian, as well as private institutions conducted the archaeological excavation
and exploration in different part of Bangladesh. They emphasise defining historical
societies into distinct ethnic and cultural groupings according to their material culture.
There are some Antiquarians and Art Historians who have established a proper
historical as well as dynastic chronology and a comprehensive social and political
history for the region involving detailed studies on literary sources and epigraphic
contents. On the other hand, a group of Archaeologist primarily deals with the
„antiquarian‟ remnant and documentation of epigraphic materials from different parts
of Bengal.
After the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, some new research approaches and
new progress have been done by some native archaeologists as well as national and
international institutions. During the last 20 years, Department of Archaeology,
Jahangirnagar University and French-Bangladesh joint venture have applied the
modern archaeological scientific methods and techniques (i.e. Harris Metrix,
stratigraphy, geoarchaeological and archaeobotanical analysis, C14 dating, etc.) in
their archaeological investigation. They are trying to touch the latest archaeological
research approach like the processual and post processual archaeology in their
research arena. On the other hand, Department of Archaeology, the Government of the
People‟s Republic of Bangladesh mainly emphasise conservation, restoration and
reconstruction of excavated sites as well as display the movable and immovable
cultural remnants. Some private institutions and organizations have conducted
excavation as well as working on cultural heritage in Bangladesh. They have
correlated archaeological material with specific groups and historic societies. Along
with, they have classified and organized material culture into specific time periods and
geographical spaces. However, irrespective of religion, colour, region, sect and
gender, archaeologists of Bangladesh explain the past human culture from an unbiased
perspective.

Conclusion
After the liberation war in 1971, Department of Archaeology, Bangladesh, conducted
an archaeological research in some selected region which is extremely limited. Later,
in the late twentieth century, the formation of the department of archaeology of
Jahangirnagar University has started full-coverage surveying, archaeological
exploration, and excavation in the different parts of Bangladesh. First, they have
conducted an exploration in the Comilla-Chittagong region, therefore, found a number
of prehistoric artefacts as well as located some prehistoric sites in 1989. But, no
archaeological excavation has been carried out and no chronological date was
identified so far. On the other hand, French-Bangladesh joint venture and Department
of Archaeology of Jahangirnagar University have discovered early historiacal and
early Medieval human settlements through the modern scientific methods and
technique. It is believed that in near future archaeologist find out the prehistoric
human settlement as well as enrich the Bangladesh prehistoric period. In the fine, it is
mentionable that the archaeological research in Bangladesh is ongoing. Moreover,
every day discovering the different types of artifacts and adds significant information
in the history of Bangladesh as well as the Indian subcontinent.
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