mohasthan bangla History of Bogura

mohasthan bangla History of Bogura

Mahasthan or Mahasthangarh contains the ruins of Pundranagar, the oldest and largest city in Bangladesh. It is located 13 km north of Bogra city on the Dhaka-Dinajpur highway (24 ° 56 north latitude, 89 ° 918 east longitude). The rectangular ruin is 1500 m wide in the north-south and 1400 m wide in the east-west and is surrounded by a defensive wall at an average height of 6 m above the river level. Inside the wall, at the highest point of the south-east corner, is the tomb of Shah Sultan Mahiswar and a mosque of the Mughal emperor Farrukh Siyar. A modern mosque has been built around this mosque and recently it has been expanded. Due to this, it has become impossible to carry out any excavation work here in future. The north, west and south sides of the fortified city were surrounded by a deep moat. To the north and west the trench is completely and to the south partial marks are observed. The river Karatoya was flowing towards the east then. The moat and the river will probably serve as a complementary defense to the city-fortress. Within a radius of 8 km to the north, south and west, scattered mounds can be seen in various places outside the city. These bear witness to the suburbs of the ancient provincial capital. Many tourists and scholars, especially Buchanan Hamilton, O'Donnell, Westmacott, Beveridge and Sir Alexander Cunningham visited the suburbs and mentioned it in their reports. But it is Sir Alexander Cunningham who is credited with identifying the ruins of the ancient city of Pundranagara in 179. The mention of ‘Pundangal’ (Pundranagar) in an inscription in the Brahmi script found here proves that the city was probably founded by the Mauryas and has been inhabited for a long time. 

The first systematic excavation was carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India in 1928-29 under the supervision of KN Dixit and it was confined to three mounds. These mounds are part of the eastern wall, including the locally known Bairagir Vita, Govinda Vita and a tower known as Munir Ghun. Excavation then ceased for three decades. Excavations resumed in the early sixties and were carried out in the northern defensive wall area, Parshuram Palace, tomb area, Khodar Pathar Vita, Mankali Kunda Dhap and other places.

Preliminary reports of these excavations were published in 1985. After nearly two decades, excavations resumed in 1986, and continued almost every year until 1991. At this time the excavation was confined to the area near the tomb and to the north and east of the defensive wall. But the amount of work done at this stage was negligible compared to the size of the area. The history and cultural hierarchy of this place is still unknown. The need for a comprehensive search to reconstruct the ancient history of this archeological site and region and to learn about the organization of the ancient city has long been felt. As a result, a joint venture between Bangladeshi and French archaeologists undertook a joint venture in early 1993, under an agreement concluded between Bangladesh and France (1992). Since then, archeological excavations have been carried out every year in the vicinity of the center of the eastern defensive wall. Excavations have already been carried out by the Department of Archeology of Bangladesh at several places like Vasubihar, Bihar Dhap, Mangalkot and Godaibari outside the protected city. During excavations in the city, excavations have been carried out in several places up to the original soil of the archeological site. Of these, recent excavations conducted by the France-Bangladesh Mission have uncovered 18 construction layers. The following cultural sequences have been uncovered as a result of excavations conducted at different times since 1929 (including France-Bangladesh initiative)

The earliest eras include a large number of North Indian black smooth pots, roulette pots, black and red pots, black coated pots, gray pots, stone pots, earthenware floors (kitchens) with earthen floors, as a reminder of pre-Maurya culture. Stove and stove holes. Northern black smooth pots were found in greater quantities at the lowest levels. Among these are dishes, cups, glasses and basins. A brick floor was found in a very limited area at this level. But so far no walls related to the floor have been found. Probably the first settlements were formed here on the Pleistocene terrain. The radioactive carbon date of the upper settlement is found in the last part of the fourth century BC. From this it can be inferred that this level of settlement dates back to pre-Maurya period. It is necessary to determine whether this primitive settlement level is associated with Nanda or almost historical culture.

Archaeological finds in the 2nd period include broken tiles (known to be the oldest known tile for such roofs), fragments of bricks used for mixing or bonding earthen walls (sometimes for household purposes such as stoves, terracotta wells), northern black smooth pots, Ordinary pots of red or pale yellow color, ring stones, bronze mirrors, bronze lamps, molded coins, terracotta plaques, terracotta animals, beads of semi-precious stones and beads of stone. Some radioactive carbon dates (36-182 BC, 361-183 BC) and cultural products include this period in the Maurya period. 

The third age includes the post-Maurya (Shunga-Kushan) period. Significant architectural ruins of large and relatively well-preserved bricks, brick laying floors, pole holes, terracotta wells, lots of terracotta slabs featuring horns, semi-precious stone (agate carnelian, quartz) beads, rhubarb, Copper coins, terracotta temple tops, moderately red or yellow colored pottery (especially dishes, cups, bowls) and gray pottery have been found. The northern black smooth pot of thick weave is less at this level than the Maurya layer. The serial levels of some radioactive carbons are 197-48 BC, 60 BC-162 BC, 40 BC-122 BC. Signs of the Kushan-Gupta period have been uncovered during this period of the fourth period. A large number of Kushan pottery fragments and a large number of terracotta plaques with specific contemporary artistic features have been discovered in this period. The main types of pottery are cooking utensils with engraved designs, saucers, bowls, syringes and lids. The architectural ruins in this part are less than the upper and lower levels. There are pieces of broken bricks as examples of architecture. Other cultural items include terracotta beads, baskets, stones and glass beads, glass bangles and terracotta seals.

The fifth age bears the identity of the Gupta and post-Gupta eras. The radioactive carbon method gives the serial numbers from 361 to 594 AD. At this stage, near the fort-city, the ruins of a huge brick structure of the temple known as Govinda Vita of the later Gupta period and the ruins of brick houses, floors and roads were found in the city. There are also a large number of artefacts, including the typical terracotta plaques, seals, glass and almost-precious stone beads, terracotta spheres and discs, copper and iron products, and imprinted vessels.

The Sixth Age This period is identified with the Pala period by a few scattered archeological ruins on the east side of the city, such as Khodar Pathar Vita, Mankali Kunda Dhapa, Parshuram's palace and Bairagir Vita. This stage was the most prosperous and during this period a large number of Buddhist buildings were built outside the city.

The ruins of a 15-domed mosque built on the ruins of a previous era at Mankali Kunda in the 7th century, the ruins of a single-domed mosque built by Farrukh Siyar, and other Chinese artefacts, such as the Chinese celadon and the shiny earthenware characteristic of this era.