bangladesh archeology

Archeology and Historical tour in Bangladesh

Bangladesh Travel Homes is offering customize tour for the tourist who are interested to visit Archeology tour & Historical tour in Bangladesh. We have rich diverse archeological and historical treasure in Bangladesh as back as 2000 B.C. You will be amazed to these magnificent archeological master pieces. Hope truly tourist will enjoy Bangladesh archeological and historical tour.

Paharpur world Heritage Site

Major Archeological sites and Historical sites in Bangladesh
Paharpur 09. Ahsan Manjil Dinajpur Kantaji's Temple 10. War Memorial Puthia Shiva Temple 11. Language Memorial Mahasthangar 12. Lord Curzon Hall Bagherhat world Heritage Mosque Mainamati Sonargaon the old capital Panam City Lalbagh Fort
Archeological Sites
Paharpur Buddhist Monastery:
Paharpur Buddhist Monastery is another tourist attraction of North Bengal. Paharpur is a small village 5 km. west of Jamalganj in the greater Rajshahi district. You can go to Paharpur from Jaipur district. Its only 10 km from Jaipur. King Dharma Pal established Paharpur Buddhist Monastery in 7th century, which is the most important and the largest known monastery south of the Himalayas,has been excavated. The main Mandir s in the centeri of this Monastery. This 7th century archaeological find covers approximately an area of 27 acres of land. The entire establishment, occupying a quadrangular
court , measuring more than 900 ft. externally on each side, has high enclosure- walls about 16 ft. in thickness and from 12 ft. to 15 ft. height. With elaborate gateway complex on the north, there are 45 cells on the north and 44 in each of the other three sides with a total number of 177 rooms. The architecture of the pyramidal cruciform temples profoundly influenced by those of South-East Asia, especially Myanmar and Java. A small site-Museum built in 1956-57 houses the representative collection of objects recovered from the area, where you can see the statues of Buddha and Vishnu. The excavated findings have also been preserved at the Varendra Research Museum at Rajshahi. The antiquities of the museum include terracotta plaques, images of different gods and goddesses, potteries, coins, inscriptions, ornamental bricks and other minor clay objects.

Mohasthangarh

Mohasthangarh is one of the main attractions in north Bengal. It was the capital of Kingdom of the Mourjo, the Gupta and the Sen Dynasty. This is the ancient archeological and historical which was, established in 2500 BC. It is the oldest archaeological site of Bangladesh is on the western bank of river Karatoa 18 km. north of Bogra town beside Bogra-Rangpur Road. The spectacular site isan imposing landmark in the area having a fortified, oblong enclosure measuring 5000 ft. by 4500 ft. with an average height of 15 ft. from the surrounding paddy fields. Beyond the fortified area, other ancient ruins fan out within a semicircle of about five miles radius. Several isolated mounds, the local names of which are Govinda Bhita Temple, Khodai Pathar Mound, Mankalir Kunda, Parasuramer Bedi, Jiyat Kunda etc. surround the fortified city. This 3rd century archaeological site is still held to be of great sanctity by the Hindus. Every year (mid-April) and once in every 12 years (December) thousands of Hindu devotees join the bathing ceremony on the bank of river Karatoa.A visit to Mahasthangarh site museum will open up for you wide variety of antiquities, ranging from terracotta objects to gold ornaments and coins recovered from the site. Now it is one of the major tourist spots maintained by Bangladesh archeological Department.You can go to Mohasthanagar from Bogra town, 10 km. away. Don’t forget to visit Mohasthangar museum while visiting Mohasthangar. Mohasthan Buddhist Stambho is another attraction for the tourists; it is locally called as Behula’s Basar.

Kantaji's Temple

Kantaji's Temple is in Dinajpur district. It is the most ornate among the late medieval temples of Bangladesh is the Kantajee’s temple near Dinajpur town, which was established in the year 1722 by Ram Nath, son of Maharaja Pran Nath .The temple, a 51' square three storied edifice, rests on a slightly curved raised plinth of sandstone blocks, believed to have been quarried from the ruins of the ancient city of Bangarh near Gangharampur in West Bengal. It was originally a navaratna temple, crowned with four richly ornamental corner towers on two stores and a central one over the third stored. Unfortunately these ornate towers collapsed during

Festival in Kantaji's Temple

an earthquake at the end of the 19th century. ln spite of this, the monument rightly claims to bathe finest extant example of its type in brick and terracotta, built by Bengali artisans. The central cells is surrounded on all sides by a covered verandah, each pierced by three entrances, which are separated by equally ornate dwarf brick pillars, Corresponding to the three delicately cusped entrances of the balcony, the sanctum has also three richly decorated arched openings on each face. Every inch of the temple surface is beautifully embellished with exquisite terracotta plaques, representing flora fauna, geometric motifs, mythological scenes and an astonishing array of contemporary social scenes and favorite pastimes. The beautiful wall paints of this temple tell us the story of Ramayan-Mohabharat, Krishna-Lila and Dev-Devies. There are another interesting places to visit in Dinajpur which are Dinajpur Rajbari and Rajbari Kali Temple.

Temple City Puthia:

Puthia has the largest number of historically important Hindu structures in Bangladesh. The most amazing of the village’s monuments is the Govinda Temple, which was erected between 1823 and 1895 by one of the maharanis of the Puthia estate. It’s a large square structure crowned by a set of miniature ornamental towers. It’s covered by incredibly intricate designs in terracotta depicting scenes from Hindu epics, which give it the appearance of having been draped by a huge red oriental carpet. The ornate Siva Temple is an imposing and excellent

Example of the five-spire Hindu style of temple architecture common in northern India. The ornate temple has three tapering tiers topped by four spires. It’s decorated with stone carvings and sculptural works, which unfortunately were disfigured during the War of Liberation. The village’s 16-century Jagannath Temple is one of the finest examples of a hut-shaped temple: measuring only 5m (16ft) on each side, it features a single tapering tower, which rises to a height of 10m (33ft). Its western facade is adorned with terracotta panels of geometric design. Puthia is 23km (14mi) east of Rajshahi and 16km (10mi) west of Natore.

Mainamati

Mainamati (Bangla: ময়নামতি) is located almost 8 miles from the town of Comilla, Bangladesh. It is the home of one of the most important Buddhist archaeological sites of the region. There are a number of Buddhist sites in this region, dating approximately from 7th to 12th centuries CE. Comilla Cantonment is located nearby and houses a beautiful colonial era cemetery. The center piece of Buddhist sites at Mainamati is the Salban Vihara,

almost in the middle of the Mainamati-Lalmai hill range. It is clearly a Vihara, or an educational center with reasidential facilities. It consists of 115 cells, built around a spacious courtyard with cruciform temple in the center facing its only gateway complex to the north resembling that of the Sompur Bihara. Kutila Mura situated on a platue, about 5 kilometers north to Salban Vihara is another important Buddhist establishment. Here three stupas are found side by side representing the Buddhist "Trinity" or three jewels i.e. the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Charpatra Mura is another 2.5 km. north-west of Kutila Mura stupas. Here a number of shrines can be found.The Mainamati site Museum, situated next to Salvan Bihara, houses a good collection of things found from these site.

Sixty dome World Heritage Mosque

In mid-15th century, a Muslim colony was founded in the inhospitable mangrove forest of the Sundarbans near the seacoast in the Bagerhat district by an obscure saint-General, named Ulugh Khan Jahan. He was the earliest torch bearer of Islam in the South who laid the nucleus of an affluent city during the reign of Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah (1442-59), then known as 'Khalifalabad' (present Bagerhat). Khan Jahan aborned his city with numerous mosques, tanks, roads and other public buildings, the spectacular ruins of which are focused around the most imposing and largest multidomed mosques in Bangladesh, known as the Shait-Gumbad Masjid (160'X108'). The stately fabric of the monument, serene and imposing, stands on the eastern bank of an unusually vast sweet-water tank, clustered around by the heavy foliage of a low-laying countryside, characteristic of a sea-coast landscape. So in the year 1459 the great Azam Ulugh Khan Jahan established this mosque, which called Shat Gambuj Mosjid. In Bengali Shat means the number 60. Though it is called Shat Gambuj Mosjid, actually the numbers of Gamboj in the mosque are 81. The mosque roofed over with 77 squat domes, including 7 chauchala or four-sided pitched Bengali domes in the middle row. The vast prayer hall, although provided with 11 arched doorways on east and 7 each on north and south for ventilation and light, presents a dark and somber appearance inside. It is divided into 7 longitudinal aisles and 11 deep bays by a forest of slender stone columns, from which springs rows of endless arches, supporting the domes. Six feet thick, slightly tapering walls and hollow and round, almost detached corner towers, resembling the bastions of fortress, each capped by small rounded cupolas, recall the Tughlaq architecture of Delhi. The general appearance of this noble monument with its stark simplicity but massive character reflects the strength and simplicity of the builder. This mosque is 160 ft long and 108 ft. in its width. This is one of the most beautiful archeological and historical Mosque in Bangladesh made by red burn mud.

Kodla Math

Kodla math have other name is called Ayudha math. it is situated 10 km north from Bagerhat world heritage mosque . This is an ancient old Hindu temple with full of terracotta designee. Shape and designee of this temple is really wonderful as it is not like other common type of Hindu temple in the subcontinent region .

Historical sites

Sonargaon, Old Capital of Bangladesh

About 27 km. from Dhaka, Sonargaon is one of the oldest capitals of Bengal. It was the seat of Deva Dynasty until the 13th century. From then onward till the advent of the Mughals, Sonargaon was subsidiary capital of the Sultanate of Bengal. Among the ancient monuments still intact are the Tomb of Sultan Ghiasuddin (1399-1409 A. D), the shrines of Panjpirs and Shah Abdul Alia and a beautiful mosque in Goaldi village Other attractions in and around Dhaka include the Institute of Arts and Crafts with its representative collection of folk art and paintings, handicraft shops. Aparajeya Bangla monument,

picnic spots at Chandra and Salna, industrial estates of Tongi, Narayanganj, Demara, Tejgaon, cruising by country boat in the nearby river or a visit to a village to see jute cultivation, weaving and pottery making. Last but not the least travel by a horse driven cart or rickshaw along busy Dhaka streets is a rewarding experience.

Lalbagh Fort

Lalbagh Fort (also known as "Fort Aurangabad") is an incomplete Mughal palace fortress at the Buriganga River in the southwestern part of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Construction was commenced in 1678 by Prince Muhammad Azam during his 15-month long vice-royalty of Bengal, but before the work could complete, he was recalled by Aurangzeb. His successor, Shaista Khan, did not continue the work, though he stayed in Dhaka up to 1688.
Layout of fort:Lalbagh fort and the Tomb of Pari BibiFor long, the fort was considered to be a combination of three buildings:he mosque: the tomb of Bibi Pari;

and the Diwan-i-Aam, comprising two gateways and a portion of the partly damaged fortification wall. Recent excavations carried out by the Department of Archaeology of Bangladesh, however, have revealed the existence of other structures, and it is now possible to have a more or less complete picture of the fort. In the present fort area of 18 acres (73,000 m²), excavations have revealed the remains of either 26 or 27 structures, with elaborate arrangements for water supply, sewerage, roof gardens, and fountains. Renovation work by the Archaeology Department has now put Lalbagh Fort in a much-improved shape, and it has now become an interesting spot for tourists and visitors.

Tomb of Bibi Pari:

The tomb of Bibi Pari, located in the center, is the most impressive of the surviving buildings of the fort. Eight rooms surround a central square room that contains the mortal remains of Bibi Pari. The central room is covered by a false octagonal-shaped dome, wrapped by a bronze plate.

The entire inner wall of the central room is covered with white marble, while the four rooms at the sides had stone skirting up to a height of one metre. The walls in the rooms at the four corners are skirted with beautifully-glazed floral tiles. The tiles have recently been restored; two of the original tiles have been retained. The room at the south eastern corner contains a small grave, popularly known to be of that of Shamsad Begum, possibly a relative of Bibi Pari.

The archaeological excavations have also revealed strata of the Sultanate, as well as of the pre-Muslim periods, from where terracotta heads and plaques have been found. Thus, it is now justified to say that though the Mughals founded Dhaka, it was definitely inhabited long before the Muslims came to Bengal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lalbagh_Fort

Curzon Hall

Curzon Hall is part of the school of science of the University of Dhaka.
Curzon Hall meant to be a town hall, was named after Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India, who laid its foundation in 1904. A year later Bengal was partitioned and Dhaka or Dacca as it was known then, became the capital of the newly created province of East Bengal and Assam. Following the annulment of partition in 1911 it was used as a premise of Dhaka College, and after the establishment of the University of Dhaka in 1921, became part of the university's science section and continues as such.

Curzon Hall has attained great significance in the history of the Language Movement. It was here, in 1948, that students of Dhaka University uttered their first refusal to accept Mohammad Ali Jinnah's declaration that Urdu alone would be the state language of the whole of Pakistan.

Architecture:

One of the best examples of Dhaka's architecture, it is a happy blend of European and Mughal elements, particularly noticeable in the projecting facade in the north which has both horse-shoe and cusped arches. The style combined traditional art with modern technology and functions and favored Mughal forms such as arches and domes, believed to have entered the Islamic world from the west. It marks the casting aside of veiled power after the Sepoy Revolt of 1857, and India's passing directly under the British Crown, seeking legitimacy by linkage to the Mughals. The red colour substituting for red sandstone, and the ornate brackets, deep eaves, and domed terrace pavilions (chhatris), specially of the middle section are strikingly reminiscent of the small but well-known Diwan-i-Khas in the palace fortress of Fatehpur Sikri, Emperor Akbar's capital between 1570 and 1585. Not only were both cities new capitals, but the deliberate choice of the Fatehpur Sikri style may be explained by the fact that the British favoured Akbar as the wisest and most tolerant of all the Mughals, feeding into the ideal of their own role in India.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curzon_Hall

Jatiyo Smriti Soudho (National Martyrs' Memorial)

(Bengali: Jatio Sriti Shoudho) or National Martyrs' Memorial is a monument in Bangladesh. It is the symbol of the valour and the sacrifice of the martyrs of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, which brought the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistani rule. The monument is located in Savar, about 35 Kilometres north-west of the capital, Dhaka.

History:
Plans for the monument were initiated right after the independence, in 1972. Following the site selection, road and land development, a nation-wide design competition was held in June, 1978. Following evaluation of the 57 submissions, Syed Mainul Hossain's design was chosen. The main structure and the artificial lake and other facilities were completed in 1982.

Structure:
A view of the reservoir and terrace in front of the monumentThe monument is composed of 7 isosceles triangular pyramid shaped structures, with the middle one being the tallest. The highest point of the monument is 150 feet. There is an artificial lake, and several mass graves in front of the main monument.

The Shaheed Minar (Bengali: Shohid Minar)

The Shaheed Minar (Bengali: Shohid Minar) is a national monument in Dhaka, Bangladesh, established to commemorate the martyrs of the Language Movement of 1952.

On February 21, 1952, dozens of students and political activists were killed when the Pakistani police force opened fire on Bengali protesters who were demanding equal status to their native tongue, Bangla. The massacre occurred near Dhaka Medical College and Ramna Park in Dhaka. A makeshift monument was erected on February 23[1] by students of University of Dhaka and other educational institutions, but soon demolished on February 26[2] by the Pakistani police force.

The Language Movement gained momentum and after a long struggle, Bangla was given equal status as Urdu. To commemorate the martyrs, the Shaheed Minar was designed and built by Hamidur Rahman, a Bangladeshi sculptor. The monument stood in its solemn glory until the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, when it was demolished completely during Operation Searchlight, a genocide carried out by the Pakistani Army resulting in an estimated 50,000 civilian deaths. After Bangladesh gained independence, it was rebuilt.

Today, the Shaheed Minar is the centre of cultural activities in Dhaka. Every year, the Language Movement is remembered with due respect at the monument.