Mahasthan or Mahasthangarh represents the oldest and largest archeological site in Bangladesh, consisting of the ruins of the ancient city of Pundranagar. The place is 13 km north of Bogra city on Dhaka-Dinajpur highway. The ruins form a rectangular plateau measuring 1500m N-S and 1400m E-W, surrounded by a wall that rises to an average height of 6 m above river level. The highest point in the siege in the south-east corner is occupied by the tomb of Shah Sultan Mahisawar and a mosque by the Mughal emperor Farrukh Siyar. The latter is surrounded by a modern mosque, which has recently expanded, a development that hinders future excavation opportunities here.
The north, west and south sides of the fortified city were surrounded by a deep moat, the marks of which were visible on the two sides of the front and partially on the back. The river Karatoya flows on the east side. Trenches and river forts can serve as the city's second line of defense. Within a radius of 8 km to the north, south and west, many isolated mounds can be seen at various places outside the city, which testifies to the existence of the outskirts of the ancient provincial capital.
Many travelers and scholars, especially Buchanan, O'Donnell, Westmact, Beveridge and Sir Alexander Cunningham have visited the site and mentioned it in their reports. But it was Cunningham who identified the ruins in 1879 as the ancient city of Pundranagara.
The city was probably founded by the Mauryas, as evidenced by a fragmentary stone inscription mentioned in the Brahmi script (Mahasthan Brahmi inscription) Pudangala (Pundranagar). It was uninterruptedly inhabited for a long time.
The first regular excavations were carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India in 1928-29 under the direction of KN Dixit and it was confined to three mounds locally known as Bairagir Vita, Govinda Vita and a part of the eastern wall. The fort is known as Munir Ghun. After that the work was stopped for three decades. It was reopened in the early sixties when excavations were carried out in the northern palace area, Parashuram Palace (Parashuram's Prasad), shrine area, Khodar Pathar Vita, Mankali Kunda mound and other places. Preliminary reports of the excavation were published in 1975. After nearly two decades, excavation work resumed in 1988. This continued almost every year until 1991. During this period the work was confined to the area near the shrine and between the north and east wall walls. But the work done in this episode was of negligible scope compared to the size of the site. The history and cultural order of the site has not yet been established.
The need for a thorough investigation to reconstruct the early history of the site and region and to understand the organization of the ancient city began to be felt. Consequently, under an agreement between the governments of Bangladesh and France (1992), a joint venture between Bangladeshi and French archaeologists was adopted in early 1993. Every year since then, archaeological excavations have been carried out in the area between the eastern walls. . The Archaeological Survey of Bangladesh has previously conducted excavations at several places outside the protected city, such as Vasu Bihar (Vasu Bihar), Bihar Dhap, Mangalkot and Godaibari.
Excavations at several points in the city have resulted in the arrival of virgin soil. In the recent excavations conducted by the France-Bangladesh Mission, the levels of 18 buildings have been exposed. The works performed at different times from 1929 to the present (including the France-Bangladesh expedition) reveal the following cultural order:
Period I represents the pre-Maurya cultural epoch which consists of a large quantity of B Phase Northern Black Polished Wire (NBPW), Routed War, Black and Red Wire (BRW), black slipped goods, gray warehouse, stool quarns, earthen house. (Kitchen) with earthen floor, stove and post-hole. Fine NBPW is more numerous at the lowest level; The main types of dishes, cups, beakers and bowls. Only a brick-paved floor has been found in a very limited area of this level, but no wall attached to this floor has been uncovered so far. It turns out that the earliest settlements were on top of the Pleistocene formation. No specific date for this preliminary settlement has been confirmed. But some radiocarbon dates from the upper layers date back to the late 4th century BC. This indicates that the 'early settlement' was in the pre-Maurya period. We need to make sure that this episode belongs to Nanda or pre / proto-historical culture.
NBPW, pale red or buff accessories, ring stones, bronze mirrors, bronze lamps, copper coinage, terracotta plaques, terracotta animal statues, semi-precious stone beads, stone mullers and quartz. Several chronological radiocarbon dates (366-162 BC, 371-173 BC) and cultural materials indicate that this episode represents the Mauryan era.
Phase III represents the post-Maurya (Shunga-Kushan) phase. It is characterized by significant architectural remnants of larger and more well-preserved brick houses, brick-paved floors, post-holes, terracotta ring wells, abundant terracotta plaques, and semi-precious stone beads (agate, carnelian). , Quartz), silver punch marked coins, silver bangles, copper casting coins, antimony rods, terracotta tops, lots of common pale red or buff items (especially dishes, cups and bowls) and gray accessories. NBPW certainly occurs in fabrics at a lower frequency than the Maurya level. Some radiocarbon dates give a calibrated interval of 197-46 BC, 60 BC-172 AD, 40 BC-122 AD.
Period IV represents the Kushan-Gupta period. It has been characterized by the discovery of a considerable number of Kushan pottery and terracotta statues with a definite stylistic connection to the contemporary rhetoric. The main pottery types are handling cooking utensils with cut designs, sauces, bowls, sprinklers and lids. The remnants of architecture are much less than its lower and upper levels. Building materials are represented by small pieces of brick. Other cultural materials include terracotta beads, bowls, stone and glass beads, glass bangles, terracotta seals and ceilings. Gold coin
Period V represents the secret and last-secret episodes. The radiocarbon data of this period give a calibrated date between 361 AD and 594 AD. Stage Remains of a huge brick structure of a temple called Govinda Vita, located near the fort-town, towards the end of the Gupta period, as well as other brick structures - houses, floors, streets - in the city and huge. Featured style antique items including terracotta plaques, seals, seals, terracotta beads, glass and semi-precious stones, terracotta balls, discs, copper and iron objects and stamped items.
The sixth period represents the Pala period, as evidenced by the architectural remnants of various places scattered to the east of the city, such as the stone vita of God, the tank of Mankali, the palace of Parshuram, and the vita of the monk. It was the most prosperous period and during this period a large number of Buddhist monuments were built outside the city.
Period VII represents the Muslim period that bears witness to the architectural remnants of the 15-domed mosque built on the earlier period at Mankali Kunda, a single-domed mosque built by Farrukh Siyar, and other antiquities such as Chinese celadon and glazed wire featuring the era. The Vita of Bairagir, the Vita of God's Stone, the mound of Mankali's Kunda, the mound of Parshuram's palace and the Ziaat Kunda are some of the archeological things inside the city that are of interest. In addition to these sites, excavations in 1988-91 found three entrances to the city, a significant portion of the north and east walls, and a temple complex near the shrine area. Two of the three entrances are located on the north wall; One is 5 m wide and 5.8 m long and is located 442 m east of the northwest corner of the fort and the other is 6.5 m east, 1.6 m wide. The entrances were used in two stages related to the early and later Pala period. The only entrance to the eastern wall, located in the middle of Parshuram's palace and 100 m east, is about 5 m wide and is thought to have been built on the remnants of an earlier entrance towards the end of the Pala period, which has not yet been completed. Open
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