Important Archaeological Sites of ancient

Bangladesh-Wari-Bateshwar-the locations of
Gangaridai Kingdom, Mahasthangarh-Bhasu
Bihar, Paharpur, Sitakot Vihar and Bharat
Bhayna.
Important Archaeological Sites of ancient Bangladesh

 Cultural heritage of Bangladesh

 We know that our cultural heritage is very rich as is
evident from the various archaeological explorations and
excavations at different archaeological 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-Bhasu Vihara, Sitakot Vihara,
Paharpur and Bharat Bhayna.
 Wari-Bateshwar

Wari-Bateshwar, Narsingdi Etched beads, Wari-Bateshwar

Wari-Bateshwar

Beads Ornaments
Wari-Bateshwar

Wari-Bateshwar is an interesting archaeological site

in Bangladesh.
The Department of Archaeology in Jahangirnagar
University has been playing a significant role in
probing new fields in the archaeology of
Bangladesh.

Their two pioneering achievements have been in

the domain of prehistory and ‘early history’ of
Bangladesh.
 
Wari-Bateshwar

Wari-Bateshwar is an interesting archaeological site

in Bangladesh.
Their recent work in Wari-Bateswar has established
an ‘early historic’ horizon, 4th- 3rd century BCE-
Mauryan, perhaps pre-Mauryan-in southeast Bengal
like Mahasthangarh in northern Bengal.
 
Wari and Bateshwar are two contiguous villages in
the Narsingdi district in Bangladesh which is known
for various surface finds of minor antiquities.
 
Wari-Bateshwar

 Among them, the most significant are stone (fossil wood) tools,
punch-marked coins in thousands, and also thousands of semi-
precious stone beads-many of which are unfinished, indicating
that they were manufactured locally.

 Hanif Pathan and his son Habibullah Pathan-have built up a family

collection of these ancient relics and have been trying
persistently since 1933 to project the importance of the site by
writing in journals and publishing books about them.

 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

 There are several early medieval sites around, for

instance Belavo (Bhojavarman copperplate inscription)
and Ashrafpur (2 copperplate inscriptions of Deva
Khadga) which speak of the continuity of the importance
of the area over a long period.

 The Archaeology Department of Jahangirnagar

University has been investigating the site since 1989. In
2000, Archaeology Department of Jahangirnagar
University, International Centre for Study of Bengal Art
(ICSBA), and the government Archaeology Directorate
carried out a joint excavation in the nature of trial
digging.
Wari-Bateshwar

 A preliminary report has come out recently, and has

been published by ICSBA. However, much more work is
needed to establish the nature of the site.

 That it goes back to ‘early historic’ times of the sub

continental chronological frame work – 4th-3rd century
BCE-is now certain.

 But the details of the nature and extent of the culture,

and the reason why it is here at all, are points to be
worked out.
 Locations of Gangaridai Kingdom
Gangaridai occurs as the name of a people
and of a country in Greek and Latin
writings, dates of which range between 1 st
century BCE and 2nd century ACE.

The term Gangaridai and its variants

Gangaridae, Gangaridum and Gangarides are
found in the works of classical authors.
 Locations of Gangaridai Kingdom
Writing about the countries beyond the Indus
on the basis of the knowledge obtained by
Alexander and his soldiers, Diodorus (69 BCE-16
ACE) mentions that beyond the Ganges were the
dominions of the Prasioi and the Gangaridai.

Quintus Curtius Rufus tells us that two peoples,

the Gangaridai and the Pharrisii, inhabited the
further banks of the Ganges.
Locations of Gangaridai Kingdom

Ancient map, indicating 'Gangeticvs Sinvs'

Locations of Gangaridai Kingdom

Strabo (63 BCE - 21 ACE) informs us that

the Ganges flows through the Gangaridae,
forming its eastern boundary. Pliny (c 1 st
century ACE) writes that the final part of
the Ganges flowed through the country of
the Gangarides.

Virgil (c 30 BCE) mentions Gangaridai

without indicating its location.
Locations of Gangaridai Kingdom

Greek historian, Siculus

Locations of Gangaridai Kingdom
Locations of Gangaridai Kingdom
The location of this capital, identified by Ptolemy, and
others, has yet to be identified, although excavation work in
India and Bangladesh has produced candidates, with Wari
Bateshwar, at Narshingdhi, in Bangladesh the most evident
candidate, given its size, enclosed by the banks of the Old
Brahmaputra, and a 5.3km rampart, still substantially
intact, on the landside.

Sadly, Bangladesh lacks the resources for substantial

investigation of what was, quite evidently, a major centre of
trade, with evidence of ancient coinage, carbon dated to 7 th
Century BCE, and significant manufacturing.
Mahasthangarh
Mahasthangarh

Aerial view of Mahasthan site, Bogra

Mahasthangarh

Eastern gateway of Mahasthan

Mahasthangarh
Mahasthangarh
Mahasthangarh

Beads (Semi precious stone)

Mahasthangarh

Beads (glass)
Mahasthangarh

Beads (glass)
Mahasthangarh

Gabinda Bhita Temple at Mahasthangarh

Mahasthangarh

Palace of Parsuram
Mahasthangarh

Mankalir Kunda Mound

 Mahasthangarh

Earliest and the largest archaeological site in Bangladesh.

 Location of the sites
 It is represents the earliest and the largest
archaeological site in Bangladesh consists of the ruins of
the ancient city of Pundranagara.

 The site is 13 km north of Bogra town on the Dhaka-

Dinajpur highway.

 The ruins form an oblong plateau measuring 1500m N-S

and 1400m E-W and are enclosed on their four sides by
rampart.
Mahasthangarh

 Founder of the city

 The Pundranagara city was probably
founded by the Mauryas, as testified by a
fragmentary stone inscription in the Brahmi
script (Mahasthanbrahmi inscription)
mentioning Pudanagala (Pundranagara).

 It was continuously inhabited for a long span

of time.
Mahasthangarh

 Archaeological Excavations at the site

 The first regular excavation was conducted
at the site in 1928-29 by the Archaeological
Survey of India under the guidance of K. N.
Diksit, and was confined to three mounds
locally known as Bairagir Bhita, Govinda Bhita
and a portion of the eastern rampart,
together with the bastion known as
Munirghun.
Mahasthangarh

 Archaeological Excavations at the site

 Work was then suspended for three decades. It
was resumed in the early sixties when the
northern rampart area, Parasuram palace, Mazar
area, Khodar Patharbhita, Mankalir Kunda mound
and other places were excavated.

 The preliminary report of these excavations was

published in 1975.

 After about two decades excavation was once

Mahasthangarh
Mahasthangarh

Eastern Rampart Wall of Mahasthangarh

Mahasthangarh

 France-Bangladesh expeditions
 Excavation at the city has reached virgin soil at
several points.
 Of these, the recent excavations conducted by the
France-Bangladesh mission have revealed 18
building levels.

 The works carried out at different times from 1992

to the present (including France-Bangladesh
expeditions) reveal the following cultural
sequence:
 Mahasthangarh

Period I
 Period I represents the Pre-Mauryan cultural phase
characterised by large quantity of Northern Black Polished Ware
(NBPW) of phase B, Rouletted ware, Black and Red Ware (BRW),
Black slipped ware, Grey Ware, Mud-built houses (kitchen) with
mud floors, hearths and post-holes.

 Fine NBPW are more numerous in the lowermost levels; dishes,

cups, beakers and bowls are the predominant types.

 No precise date for this early settlement could be ascertained.

But some radiocarbon dates from the upper level goes back to
late 4th century BCE.
 
Mahasthangarh
 

Northern Black Polished Ware

Mahasthangarh
 

Rouletted ware

Black and Red Ware

 Mahasthangarh
 

Black polished ceramics

Grey Ware
Mahasthangarh

 Period II
 Period II is represented by the occurrence of broken tiles,
brick-bats used as temper or binding material in the
construction of mud walls.
 NBPW, common wares of pale red or buff colour, ring
stone, bronze mirror, bronze lamp, copper cast coins,
terracotta plaques, terracotta animal figurines, semi-
precious stone beads, stone mullers and querns.
 A few radiocarbon dates (366-162 BCE, 371-173 BCE) and
the cultural materials indicate that this phase represents
the Mauryan period.
Mahasthangarh
Mahasthangarh
Mahasthangarh
Mahasthangarh
Mahasthangarh
Mahasthangarh

Coins
 Mahasthangarh
 Period III
 Period III represents the post-Mauryan (Shunga-Kusana) phase. It is
marked by substantial architectural remains of large sized and
better-preserved brick built houses, brick-paved floors, post-holes,
terracotta ring wells, large quantity of terracotta plaques of Shunga
affiliation, beads of semi-precious stones (agate, carnelion, quartz),
silver punch marked coins, silver bangle, copper cast coins, antimony
rods, terracotta pinnacle, large quantity of common pale red or buff
wares and grey wares.

 NBPW of course fabric occurs in less frequency compared to Mauryan

level. A few radiocarbon dates give calibrated intervals 197-46 BCE,
60 BCE-172 ACE, 40 BCE-122 ACE.
 
 Mahasthangarh

 Period IV 
 Period IV represents the Kusana-Gupta phase. It is
marked by the discovery of substantial amount of
Kushana pottery and terracotta figurines with
definite stylistic affiliation of the contemporary
idiom.

 The principal pottery types are handled cooking

vessels with incised designs, saucers, bowls,
sprinklers and lids.  
Mahasthangarh

 Period V 
 Period V represents the Gupta and late-Gupta
phase. Radiocarbon data of this phase give
calibrated dates between 361 ACE and 594 ACE.

 This phase yielded remains of a massive brick

structure of a temple called Govinda Bhita,
located close to the fort-city, belonging to the
late Gupta period.
Mahasthangarh

Kushana terracotta figurines Kushana pottery

Mahasthangarh

Kushana Gold coin

Mahasthangarh

 Period VI 
 Period VI represents the Pala phase, evidenced by
architectural remains of several sites scattered
throughout the eastern side of the city, like Khodar
Pathar Bhita, Mankalir Kunda, Parasuram’s Palace
and Bairagir Bhita.

 This was the most flourishing phase and during this

period, a large number of Buddhist establishments
were erected outside the city.
 
Mahasthangarh

 Period VII
 Period VII represents the Muslim phase testified by the
architectural remains of a 15 domed mosque superimposed
over the earlier period remains at Mankalir Kunda, a
single domed mosque built by Farrukh Siyar, and other
antiquities like Chinese celadon and glazed ware typical of
the age.

 Bairagir Bhita, Khodar Pathar Bhita, Mankalir Kunda

Mound, Parasuram’s Palace Mound and Jiat Kunda are
some sites inside the city which have yielded
archaeological objects of interest.
 
Mahasthangarh

 Thus we get a succession of rampart walls as we

see the succession of cultural remains inside the
city. However, the correlation between the
cultural remains of the city of the earliest level
and the earliest rampart wall (mud wall?) remains
to be established.

 Govinda Bhita, Laksindarer medh, Bhasu Vihar,

Vihar Dhap, Mangalkot and Godaibadi Dhap are
excavated sites located outside the city but within
its vicinity.
Mahasthangarh

 Many more mounds lie scattered in adjacent

villages, which are believed to contain cultural
remains of the suburbs of the ancient fortified
city of Pundranagara.

 At present there are several mounds and

structural ruins inside the fortifications. Of these
a few of note are: Jiat Kunda, Mankalir Dhap,
Parasuramer palace, Bairagir Bhita, Khodar
Pathar Bhita and Munir Ghon.
Mahasthangarh

Collapse of the top of the upper rampart due to the earthquake at Mahasthan Majar area
Bhasu Vihara

Bhasu Vihara
Bhasu Vihara

Bhasu Vihara
 Bhasu Vihara

 Bhasu Vihara is another archaeological site of

Mahasthangarh known as Narapatir Dhap. It is a
complex of two rectangular monasteries and a
semi-cruciform shrine of the Post-Gupta period.
 The site is located at about 6 km west of Mahasthangarh on the
northern part of village Bihar, under Bihar union of Shibganj
upazila in Bogra district, about 500m west of the Nagar river.
Three mounds have been excavated here revealing the basal
parts of two monasteries and one shrine.

 Alexander Cunningham identified this monastery with the Po-Shi-

Po Vhihara mentioned by Hiuen-tsang, the 7th century Chinese
pilgrim who found no less than 700 monks inhabiting the place.
 Bhasu Vihara
 Monastery 1
 It is built of burnt bricks set in mud mortar, this was
roughly rectangular in plan, measuring 148.13m (north-
south) by 139m (east-west). Twenty-six monastic cells,
each measuring roughly 11m X 10m, were arranged on the
four sides of a square courtyard.

 The gateway complex, set in the middle of the east wing,

presented an imposing facade.

 A pillared entrance hall with an open front porch gives

access to an inner hall that was placed in the same
alignment as the cells. Two guardrooms lined the outer
Bhasu Vihara
Bhasu Vihara

 Monastery 2
 It lies to the northeast of Monastery 1 and was
broadly similar in plan. Monastic cells are set at the
back of a veranda around an open courtyard, access
to which was provided by a single gateway.

 This monastery had 30 cells arranged in the

following fashion: 7 each in the east and west
wings; 8 in the north wing, excluding a larger hall in
the centre; and 8 in the south wing, excluding the
inner entrance hall.
Bhasu Vihara

 Monastery 2
 The gateway was projected from the middle of the
south wing, as the shrine of the monastic complex
lay in that direction, and on the north and west
there was a deep depression marking possibly a
river bed or swamp.

 Otherwise, an eastern entrance is the regular

feature of the Buddhist monasteries in Bengal. The
outer entrance hall of the gateway had two massive
brick pillars in the middle and two flanking
Bhasu Vihara
Bhasu Vihara
Bhasu Vihara
Bhasu Vihara
Bhasu Vihara
Bhasu Vihara
Bhasu Vihara

 Centrat Shrine
 The main shrine of this Buddhist complex lay in the
south-eastern part of the mound, south of the
monastery 2 and to the south-east of monastery 1.

 It was a semi-cruciform shrine with terraced ambulatory

passages. It was entered from the west. The assembly
hall or the Mandapa was in the centre of the shrine.

 There were three ambulatory passages at three heights.

At the level of the lowermost terrace the outer facade
of the shrine was decorated with bas-reliefs made of
terracotta plaques.
 Bhasu Vihara
 Antiquities
 Besides, structural remains of these monasteries and the temple,
the excavations yielded Bronze images, terracotta plaques,
decorated bricks and inscribed terracotta sealing, apart from the
usual range of minor antiquities including pottery.

 More than 60 bronze images have been recovered, mostly from

inside the cells. Although belonging to the late occupational level
of the site, some of them could have been fashioned earlier and
preserved in the monastery.

 All the images are said to have had back slabs and high pedestals.
They represent the Buddha or Dhyani Buddha and Bodhisattva.
The images of Aksobhya are said to be more numerous among the
Dhyani Buddha figures.
Bhasu Vihara
Bhasu Vihara

 Antiquities
 In the range of the Bodhisattva figures, Avalokiteshvara is more
common and the images of the different varieties of Tara
dominate the range of female figures.

 No large, life-like bronze image has been found, but a large and
inscribed pedestal suggests that such figures existed. Some
images are inscribed and all of them have one or two inscribed
sealings attached to the back of the back-slab.

 It has been observed that the elongated slim body, thin waist,
broad chest and graceful developed features recall the classical
Pala art, somewhat different from those of Mainamati which are
characterised by more short body and simple to crude style.
Sitakot Vihara
 Sitakot Vihara
 Sitakot Vihara is a Buddhist monastery. It is located in
Nawabganj upazila under Dinajpur district.

 The Vihara was built roughly on a square plan (65.23m east-

west and 64.11m north-south) with large outside projection
on the northern and southern wings.

 The gateway complex, which had a wide frontage, was set

in the middle of the northern wing as a part of the outer
projection.

 The complex included two guardrooms. The approach to the

monastery was through an open space.
 Sitakot Vihara
 The main gateway led to an entrance hall, which was
aligned with the monastic cells. The northern end of
the eastern wing had a subsidiary entrance piercing
the back wall.

 The outer projection on the south was built as a kind

of hall and there was an entrance into the hall from
the inside.

 There were in all 41 cells in this monastery: 8 in the

northern wing and 11 cells each in the three other
Sitakot Vihara

Sitakot Vihara, Dinajpur

Sitakot Vihara

Another view of Sitakot Vihara

Sitakot Vihara

Another view of Sitakot Vihara

Sitakot Vihara

 The central cells in the east, west and south

wings were larger than the rest and each of
them possessed a substantial brick platform
that was possibly used to install a votive image.

 The central cell of the southern wing might

have served as the main shrine. A pillared
tower built in front of this was intended to
serve as the Mandapa.
 
Sitakot Vihara

 Five small rooms fronted by a verandah and

linked to the main building by a covered
passage apparently constituted a toilet
complex in the southeastern wing of the
monastic complex, projecting well out of the
main structure.

 The roofing material was rammed lime surki

supported by wooden beams and rafters.
 
Sitakot Vihara

 Antiquities
 The major findings are two bronze images, one of
Bodhisattva Padmapani and the other of
Bodhisattva Manjushri.

 On the stylistic ground the images have been dated

in the 7th-8th century ACE.

 The monastery has not been dated by stratigraphy,

but two building periods have been postulated.
Sitakot Vihara

Bodhisattva Padmapani
Paharpur

Paharpur Mahavihara
Paharpur

Ground plan of Paharpur

Mahavihara
Paharpur
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 metalled 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

 Excavations at the site

 Archaeological survey of India, Varendra Research Society
of Rajshahi and University of Calcutta jointly started
regular and systematic excavation here in 1923.

 After the great liberation war 1971 the Department of

Archaeology of Bangladesh brought the site under further
excavation. The operations took place in two phases.

 The first phase was initiated in 1981-82 and continued in

every season up to 1984-1985.
 
Paharpur

Excavations at the site

 The second phase was started in 1988-89 and
continued in the next two seasons up to 1990-
91.

 The first phase of excavations was aimed at

establishing the three major building phases of
the cells that Dikshit mentioned in his
excavation report and discovering the
information of early levels.
Paharpur

Excavations at the site

But in the second phase the works were
confined to clear the cultural debris from
the courtyard of the monastery.

After a long gap a small-scale excavation

was conducted in the temple area and
nearby courtyard in 2007-08.
Paharpur
 Architectural remains
 Architectural remains Pre-1971 expeditions have revealed the
architectural remains of a vast Buddhist monastery, the Somapura
Mahavihara, measuring 274.15m N-S and 273.70m E-W.

 This gigantic establishment with surrounding 177 monastic cells,

gateways, votive stupas, minor sanctuaries, tank and a multitude of
other structures for the convenience of the inmates, is dominated
by a central shrine, conspicuous by its lofty height and architectural
peculiarities.

 It is distinguished by its Cruciform shape with angles of projection

between the arms, its three raised terraces and complicated scheme
of decoration of walls with carved brick cornices, friezes of
terracotta plaques and stone reliefs.
Paharpur

 Description of the monastery

 The entire establishment, occupying a
quadrangular court, has high enclosure walls,
about 5m in thickness and from 3.6m to 4.5m
in height.

 Though the walls are not preserved to a very

great height, but from their thickness and
massiveness it can be assumed that the
structure was storied commensurate with the
Paharpur

 Description of the monastery

 In plan it consists of rows of cells, each
approximately 4.26 x 4.11m in area, all
connected by a spacious verandah (about 2.43
to 2.74m wide), running continuously all
around.

 An approached from the inner courtyard by

flight of steps provided in the middle of each
of the four sides.
Paharpur

 Description of the monastery

 There are in all 177 cells, excluding the cells of the central block in
each direction; 45 cells on the north and 44 in each of the other
three sides.

 The central block on the east, west and south sides is marked by a
projection in the exterior wall and contains three cells and a
passage around them, while in the north there stands a spacious
hall.

 In the monastic cell No. 96 three floors have been discovered. Here
the level of the last one (upper) is within 30cm from ground level,
that of the second 1m, while the third (lowest) is about 1.5m from
the surface.
Paharpur

 Description of the monastery

 Apart from the central temple in the courtyard of the
monastery there are many other small building remains,
which were built in different phases of occupation.

 The important ones are a number of votive stupas of

various sizes and shapes, a model of the central shrine,
five shrines, kitchen and refectory, masonry drain, and
wells.

 Still there are some structures whose features could not be

ascertained.
Paharpur

 Description of the monastery

 The kitchen and the long refectory hall
(Bhojanashala) of the monastery are also situated in
this area.

 A sandstone drain in between the dining hall and

the kitchen has been traced to a length of over 46m
northward.

 To its west there are three large wells in a row,

which probably used to serve both the kitchen and
dining hall.
Paharpur

Structures outside the monastery area

An open platform measuring 32m x 8m is
situated at a distance of about 27m from
the outer wall of the southern wing.

It runs parallel to the monastery. It stands

about 3.5m above the adjoining ground
level and is accessible from a raised
pathway across room 102.
Paharpur

Bathing ghat
There is a bathing ghat at a distance of 48m
from the outer wall of the monastery towards
the southeastern corner of the monastery.

It is not parallel to the south wall of the

monastery, but is slightly inclined towards the
north. On either side of it there is a parallel
wall paved with brick-on-edge and concrete.
 Paharpur

Gandheshvari temple
 Gandheshvari temple to the southwest of the ghat at a
distance of about 12.2 m there is an isolated structure
locally known as the Temple of Gandheshvari.

 The lotus medallion and bricks with floral pattern used in

the front wall as also the mortar used between the joints of
bricks sufficiently indicate that this building was erected
during the Muslim period. It is a rectangular hall measuring
6.7m x 3.5m each side with an octagonal brick pillar base in
the centre.
 
Paharpur

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.
 Paharpur
 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

 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 chronological arrangement has been
followed in fixing these plaques on the walls. The sizes of
the plaques vary in different section of the walls.
Paharpur

 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 ACE).

 It records the purchase and grant by a Brahman couple

of a piece of land for the maintenance of the worship of
Arhats and a resting place at the Vihara, presided over
by the Jaina teacher Guhanandin.
Paharpur

 This Vihara, which was situated at Vatagohali

in the 5th century ACE, must have been an
establishment of local celebrity.

 Metal images
 A few metal images have been found. The
ornamental image of Hara-Gouri, a standing
naked Jaina and the bronze figures of Kuber
and Ganesh are the only important images
that have been discovered at Paharpur.
Paharpur

 Coins
 Five circular copper coins have been
discovered from a room close to the main
gateway complex of the monastery.

 All these coins are fabricated on silver

excepting the last one, which is of copper.

 But we are not yet sure how these coins

made their way into this vihara.
Paharpur

 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
ACE.

 Besides pottery a number of ornamental bricks have

been found in the pattern of the stepped pyramid, lotus
petal, the chess board, rectangular medallion with half
lotuses etc.
 Bharat Bhayna

Architectural remains of Bharat Bhayna, Jessore Part of the temple after the recent excavation

Part of the temple before the recent excavation

Bharat Bhayna

Ground plan of Bharat Bhayna

Bharat Bhaina

 Location of the site

 Bharat Bhayna is an archaeological site in
south-western Bangladesh.

 Located on the western bank of the Buri-

Bhadra river in the village of Bharat Bhayna in
Keshabpur Upazila of Jessore.

 It is 20 km southwest of Daulatpur and 18 km

southeast of Keshabpur.
Bharat Bhaina

 In 1922, Archaeological Survey of India protected

the mound. K.N. Dikshit, who surveyed it, suggested
that the mound covered an ancient Buddhist temple
of the 5th century ACE and probably was one of the
30 Sangharamas of Samatata mentioned by Hiuen-
Tsang.

 The mound has been disturbed by brick-hunters

several times in the past.
 
Bharat Bhaina

 The Department of Archaeology of Bangladesh

first excavated the mound in 1985.

 The work was resumed after a decade in the

1995-96 season, and since then excavations
have been going on every season upto 2000-
2001 except 1996-97.

 The excavation work is not yet complete.

Bharat Bhaina

 The excavations have partly exposed the remains of

a building whose superstructure seems to have
been completely destroyed.

 The surviving part seems to be the foundation or

high podium of an imposing superstructure that
does not exist now.

 The foundational part appears to be cruciform in shape.

This foundation consists of a series of blind cells of various
sizes and shapes (square, rectangular with projection in
one or two sides).
Bharat Bhaina

 The main building, either a shrine or a Stupa, was

built 11.88m above the ground level on a solid
foundation gradually raised by means of a number
of cross walls of various dimensions and oriented
in different directions (north-south and east-west)
forming a cellular structure.

 The intervening spaces of the cross walls were

compacted by earth filling resulting in a series of
blind cells.
Bharat Bhaina
 A number of these blind cells have been exposed. It appears
that the principal cell or room of the main building was
built over the massive square central block of the cellular
structure, located in the middle of the mound.

 Besides the architectural remains, only a few antiquities

including one terracotta human head of Gupta era,
fragments of some terracotta figurines have been
registered.

 A few earthen oil lamps, some fragmented ornamental

bricks, two pieces of bricks with foot print and an earthen
miniature pot apart from these are worth noted.
Bharat Bhaina

 Of these few antiquities, fragments of two

terracotta plaques deserve special mention
due to their huge dimension.

 One represents probably a female figurine

along with her counterpart on her proper
right and a drummer on her left.
Bharat Bhaina

 Only lower portion of legs of the main figurines and from

leg to neck of drummer survive. The size of the existing
portion (55 X 40cm) of the main figurines indicates most
probably the entire plaque was around 1.40 m tall and
96 cm wide.

 The other terracotta fragment represents the middle

part of a standing male figure (probably) wearing
decorated clothes.

 The fragmented portion measures 34 X 27cm. It

indicates that the complete plaque might be around
1.5m tall.
Bharat Bhaina

 So it can be concluded that both the plaques

recovered from Bharat Bhayna are the largest
plaques had ever been founded not only in of
Bangladesh but also in Eastern India.

 Since the major portion of both the plaques is

missing other features of these figurines could not
be examined.
 
Bharat Bhaina

 The recovered shreds are parts of neck, rim and base of

various household objects such as pitcher, bowl, saucer,
lid, oil lamp, sprinkler's top etc.

 The shreds are of various colours and textures, mostly

pale reddish with a few deep ash and buff coloured.
Almost all of them are thick textured; only a few are
medium textured.

 A few shreds contain some designs: herringbone,

parallel lines, net etc.
Thank You