Class 12 - Archaeological Sites of Ancient Period PDF

Class 12: Archaeological Sites of Bangladesh Wari-Bateshwar, Mahasthangarh, Paharpur & Mainamati  Archaeological Sites of Bangladesh We know that our cultural heritage is very rich as is evident from the various archaeological excavations at different sites in Bangladesh....

Class 12: Archaeological Sites of Bangladesh Wari-Bateshwar, Mahasthangarh, Paharpur & Mainamati  Archaeological Sites of Bangladesh We know that our cultural heritage is very rich as is evident from the various archaeological excavations at different sites in Bangladesh. The Study of archaeological remains began in Bangladesh from the second half of the Nineteen century. Today we will discuss our cultural heritage that is archaeological remains of Bangladesh particularly Wari-Bateshwar, Mahasthangarh, Paharpur & Mainamati. 1. Wari-Bateshwar Wari-Bateshwar, Narsingdi Etched beads, Wari-Bateshwar  4. Wari-Bateshwar This archaeological site is located throughout the villages of Wari and Bateshwar at Belabo Thana in Narshingdi. These twin villages under Shibpur upazila of Narshingdi district is the most ancient location in the country. Many pre-historic tools of fossil wood, stone beads, broken pieces of pottery, etc., had been found here for a long time. Recent excavations have discovered evidences of ancient roads and human habitations here. The scholars think the signs so far discovered prove that this area may be traced out by the researches to be undertaken in future as the centre of earliest urban civilization in Bangladesh.  Md Hanif Pathan, a local school teacher, was the first torch bearer to bring the archaeological significance of the area to lime light in 1930s.  Later his son Md Habibullah Pathan, an amateur archaeologist, took the initiative to collect antiquities and study them.  From 2000 Dr. Sufi Mustafizur Rahman of the Department of Archeology at Jahangirnagar University has been closely involved in the excavation process.  What is significant is that several miles around Wari and Bateshwar there are sites bearing punch-marked coins establishing the cultural, political and economic importance of the entire region. Wari-Bateshwar - Continue So far 50 archaeological sites were discovered in and around Wari-Bateshwar fort-city located by the bank of the river old Brahmaputra. It is evident from the pattern of the archaeological sites that the ancient people established their settlements in flood-free zone. This is also the evidence of the knowledge of developed town planning and intellectual height of the ancient settlers. Similar settlement patterns are evident at Mahasthangarh (Pundranagar)in Bogra and Allahabad region of Uttar Pradesh, India. Archaeological excavation, Wari-Bateshwar  About 4 km away from Wari-Bateshwar in Shivpur Upazila a Buddhist structure ( lotus temple) was found in Mondirbhita.  In the premise of the temple there is a lotus having eight petals made of red bricks probably symbolizing the ‘Eight Noble Paths’ of Buddhism: (i) Right View, (ii) Right Intention, (iii) Right Speech, (iv) Right Action, (v) Right Livelihood, (vi) Right Effort, (vii) Right Mindfulness and (viii) Right Concentration. Amongst 7-8 lotus found in the premise of the temple at least one exists in one piece.  The discovery of this Lotus Temple has added an important dimension about the existence of Buddhist culture in ancient Wari- Bateshwar.  Another village called Jankhartek a large Buddhist vihara (viharika) was found which suggests that the residents of Wari-Bateshwar were Buddhists.  Wari-Bateshwar is called a fort-city, city or urban centre. Forts have been termed as cities in the Arthashastra by Kautilya Kayata. He mentioned that a city is a living place which is enclosed by high walls and moats. Rules and regulations formulated by the artisans and trader groups were in practice, in ancient city. Gordon Child stated that the features of an urbanization include memorials, vast region with dense population, a variety of classes of people (rulers, traders, artisans) who are not associated with food production. Also magnificent architecture is one of the important characteristics of urbanisation. The urbanisation process also includes practice of art, literature and science. According to Amalandu Ghosh, the prerequisites of the emergence and development of a city are the administrative framework and development of trader groups.  For the presence of Old Brahmaputra river, it is assumed that Wari-Bateshwar was a river port and a trade centre.  Rouletted Ware, sandwich glass bead, knobbed ware, northern black polished ware, different beads, amulets and pendants etc. confirmed that Wari-Bateshwar had close connection with the contemporary several places of Indian subcontinent. It is also assumed that outside Indian subcontinent, Wari-Bateshwar had relations with South-east Asia.  Besides, 18 meter long & 5 meter width country’s oldest metal road has been discovered in the area.  In Wari-Bateshwar, two types of punch-marked silver coins have been discovered. However, the discovery of pre-historic tools indicates the pre-historic settlement in the region which is waiting to be explored.  The time frame of the Wari-Batteshwar area dates back at least about 600BC. 2. Mahasthangarh Aerial view of Mahasthan site, Bogra  One of the earliest urban archeological sites in Bangladesh after Wari- Bateshwar. Mahasthangarh is in Bogra district. The pundra or pundranagara is the earliest urban centre as well as the oldest city of Bengal, flourished here during the 4th century B.C. the ruins of this have been identified at Mahasthangarh in Bogra district. Mohasthangrah was another name of the area where Chinese traveler Hiuen- Tsang visited in the 7th century. It was a provincial capital and a center of administration during Mauryan Empire, Gupta(320 C.E-55o C.E.) and Pala ((750–1174 A. D ) empires. Since that time, this city has gone through a long process of development. Three functional or religious quarters such as Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim sites in the Mahasthangarh urban area show layers of cultural heritage both in tangible and intangible forms.  The uses of land and sites show the indication of the early period of urbanization in the Bengal basin. Apart from the buildings, there are also other movable objects or cultural materials such as Mahasthangarh Brahmi inscription stone, ceramics, Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW), Glazed ware, Beads, Terracotta plaques and punch marked coins found in Mahasthangarh. These artifacts are the examples of the high artistic standards and creativity of Mauryan, Gupta, Pala, Sena and early Muslim periods. This city is also highly significant for the study of the evolution of ancient urban planning of this ancient city as well as its suburbs. The true significance of the areas, however, lies not in the individual mounds or monuments but in the whole area i.e. the Mahasthangarh citadel and its hinterlands ( vicinities).  Starting in the pre-Mauryan period and continuing up to the Pala period, their appears to have been a distinction maintained between different parts of the urban hinterland; Specialized religious sites such as Buddhist monasteries were found to the north-west of the citadel, the population centers at the southern edge of the city were the location of Hindu shrines, and soon afterwards, Islamic monuments.  Other Archaeological Evidences in Mahasthangarh There are still several archaeological evidences in Mahasthangarh. They are as follows: (i) The Grave or Mazar area: The grave of Shah Sultan Balkhi Mahi Sarwar stands on a very high place to the south-east corner of the archaeological site. Adjacent to it, there is a mosque built in 1718. The archaeologists have discovered here remains of the buildings of four periods. (ii) Mankalir Kunda Mound: Broken pieces of ancient pottery have been found here. (iii) Parshuramer Bari: This is an old remain measuring 200 X 100 feet. It is said that there was the palace of Parshuram, the last Hindu king of Mahasthan. Terracotta plaques of the Pala periods are also found in this region. (iv) Jiyat Kunda: It is a well with its radius measuring 12 feet 8 inches. There is a large decorated piece of Granite near it. The well was probably dug in the 18th century.  Mahasthangarh (v) Bairagir Bhita: This mound is located to the north of Parshuram’s palace. The remains of a temple in the Pala period have been found through the excavation. (vi) Gobinda Bhita: It is situated outside the wall of the Mahasthan Fort on the river of Karatoa. Here not only the remains of temples from the Gupta period but also the evidences from the Muslim period have been discovered. (vii) Lakshinder’s Merh or Gokul Merh: The remains of a temple are found at a place one mile south from Mahasthan. (viii) Basubihara: It stands at a place 3-4 miles northwest of Mahasthangarh. It is the remains of a Buddhist temple.  Mahasthangarh Eastern gateway of Mahasthangarh Glassed pottery Beads (Semi precious stone)  Mahasthangarh Beads (glass) 3. Paharpur Ground plan of Paharpur Mahavihara Paharpur Mahavihara Paharpur  Paharpur Bow-arrow, Teracotta plaque, Paharpur Balarama, Stone, Paharpur Buddha, Bronze sculpture, Paharpur Paharpur Paharpur and its location Paharpur is another important archaeological site in Bangladesh. It is situated in a village named Paharpur under the Badalgachhi Upazila of Naogaon district. The village is connected with the nearby Railway station Jamalganj, the district town Naogaon and Jaipurhat town by metaled roads. The site was first noticed by Buchanon Hamilton in course of his survey in Eastern India in 1807. Sir Alexander Cunningham visited the place in 1879.  Paharpur - Continue It is one of the largest Buddhist monasteries in the subcontinent. The Pala king, Dharmapala built this monastery in 800 A.D. It is also known as Sompur Mahabihara. UNESCO gave it the status of a world Heritage site in 1985. This monastery stands on an area of 27 acres. The architectural work covers 1000 square feet. There were 177 rooms into it and a 70-foot high temple in the middle. There were about two thousand five hundred terracotta plaques stuck on the walls of the monastery. On these plaques were depicted pictures of Bengal’s social and religious life. The Paharpur Bihara was, in fact, a residential academic centre. Paharpur - Continue Antiquities Among the movable objects discovered from the site the most important ones are stone sculptures, terracotta plaques, copper plate, inscriptions on stone columns, coins, stucco images and metal images, ceramics etc. Stone sculptures As many as 63 stone sculptures were found fixed in the basement of the temple. All the images represent Brahmanical faith excepting the only Buddhist image of Padmapani. It appears rather strange that such a large number of Brahmanical deities were installed in this grand Buddhist establishment. The occurrence of Brahmanical sculptures in a Buddhist temple indicates that they were gathered from the earlier monuments at the site or in the neighborhood and fixed up in the main temple.  Paharpur - Continue Terracotta plaques Terracotta plaques play the most predominant part in the scheme of decoration of the walls of the temple. There are more than 2,000 plaques that still decorate the faces of the walls and about 800 loose ones have been registered. Majority of these plaques is contemporaneous with the building. No regular sequential arrangement has been followed in fixing these plaques on the walls. The sizes of the plaques vary in different section of the walls. Inscriptions An inscribed copperplates and some stone inscriptions has helped us to determine the chronology of the different periods. The copperplates found in the northeast corner of the monastery is dated in 159 Gupta Era (479 AD). Metal images A few metal images have been found. Ganesh among the other two was an important images that have been discovered at Paharpur. Paharpur - Continue Coins Five circular copper coins have been discovered from a room close to the main gateway complex of the monastery. four coins are fabricated on silver and the last one, which is of copper. But we are not yet sure how these coins made their way into this vihara. Pottery The pottery discovered from the excavation at Paharpur was numerous and varied. Most of them belong to the middle or the late period roughly from the end of the tenth to the 12th century AD. Besides pottery a number of ornamental bricks have been found in Paharpur. 4. Mainamati Salban Vihara, Mainamati Mainamati Salban Vihara, Mainamati Rupban Mura AnandaVihara Mainamati Itakhola Mura Terracotta plaque, Peacock holding pearl necklace in its beak Gupta Imitation Gold Coin Mainamati Bronze Buddha  Mainamati in Comilla was an important centre for the Buddhist culture in ancient Bengal. It was discovered during the Second World War when the soldiers were digging bunkers here. It was during this time that it was possible to trace out 18 archaeological sites in this area. Later on, its number increased.  Mainamati-Lalmai in Comilla was known as Pattikhera, the capital city of Banga-Samatata under the Palas. It was the home of one of the most significant Buddhist archaeological sites in the region that included Salban Bihara, Kutila Mura, Rupban Murha, Itakhola Murha, Mainamati Mound, and the Palace of Rani (Queen) Mainamati etc. from 7th to 12th centuries AD.  Mainamati - Continue Mainamati is another important archaeological site in Bangladesh. Location It is located about 8 km to the west of Comilla town. The archaeological records have now established beyond any doubt that the cultural and political centre of ancient Banga/Vanga-Samatata (southeast Bengal). Shalvan Vihara Most important among the excavated sites at Mainamati is Shalvan Vihara, which is located at Kotbari near Comilla town. Excavations have exposed a large Paharpur type Buddhist monastery and a wealth of material objects datable from the 7th to 12th centuries AD. Antiquities The discoveries from the site include  eight inscribed copperplates  400 gold and silver coins  Many terracotta and baked clay seals and sealings  Large number of sculptural specimens in stone, bronze and terracotta found in this site.  Mainamati - Continue Kutilamura At Kutilamura, the highest mound in the northeastern part of the ridge near Ananda Vihara, were unearthed the most attractive monuments in Mainamati.  an Abbasid gold coin recovered from an upper level of the site. Rupban Mura an important archaeological site of Mainamati lying on a hillock just between the modern BARD and BDR establishments in the Kotbari area on the south of the Comilla-Kalirbazar road. Excavations have revealed here the remains of a remarkable semi-cruciform shrine of medium size (28.2m east - west, 28m north - south), together with a number of subsidiary structures, including an octagonal stupa and another one on a square base.  Significant discoveries from the site include, besides the colossal stone Buddha, five debased gold coins of Balabhatta, the Khadga ruler. Mainamati - Continue Queen 'Mainamati's Palace Mound Queen 'Mainamati's Palace Mound is the largest and highest mound in the northern extremity of the ridge near to the village that still bears the name of the queen, just east of Brahmanbaria road. The site is traditionally associated with the legendary Chandra queen Mainamati, mother of the last-known Chandra' king, Govindachandra. Thank You