Mahasthangarh

Mahasthan / Pundranagara

Bangladesh · Rajshahi Division, Bogura

Ancient cityExcavation ongoing
Approximate period400 BCE — 1,400 CEApproximately 4th century BCE–14th century CE See on the map ↓

In brief

Mahasthangarh is a walled city identified with ancient Pundranagara. Excavations by Bangladeshi and French teams are investigating its long settlement sequence, defensive system and internal layout.

What was found?

  • 1Stone inscription in Brahmi script

    Contains an administrative directive calling for aid to the poor during a disaster. It directly attests to the presence of an organized administration in the city.

  • 2Northern Black Polished Ware

    Plates, cups, and bowls were found in the early layers. These vessels help distinguish the settlement's early periods.

  • 3City walls

    Defensive walls surrounding the settlement's core. Excavations revealed that earth was used in the early walls.

  • 4Superimposed building layers

    Bangladesh-France excavations identified 18 building levels. These layers show that the city was rebuilt repeatedly.

  • 5Earth-walled houses and hearths

    Earthen floors, kitchens, hearths, and postholes were found in the early phases. They reveal everyday life alongside the monumental structures.

What does it point to?

Mahasthangarh was a city with defensive structures and an administration, occupied over a long period. The inscription provides tangible evidence of public assistance, while the houses and hearths offer tangible traces of the inhabitants' everyday lives.

What did it teach us?

  1. Showed that walled settlements existed in early Bengal cities.
  2. Documented the administration's ability to organize aid during disasters.
  3. Revealed numerous rebuilding phases within the same urban area.

Images

Walls of Mahasthangarh
Zaheed Sarwer Khan · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
BD Mahasthangarh1 without people
Picture taken by P.K.Niyogi, people removed by GreenComputer · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Record

Culture
Pundranagara; Mauryan and later Bengal cultures
First modern dig
1928
Team / historical
Vincent Lefèvre; French-Bangladesh Archaeological Mission; Department of Archaeology of Bangladesh
Coordinates
24.9569°, 89.3485°

Sources

  1. en.banglapedia.org
  2. archeologie.culture.gouv.fr
  3. whc.unesco.org

Nearby excavations


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12.000

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