Ruins of Mahasthangarh description and photos - Bangladesh: Bogra (Topic)

Ruins of Mahasthangarh description and photos - Bangladesh: Bogra. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Mahasthangarh.

Photo & Description

Mahasthangarh is one of the earliest urban archaeological sites found in Bangladesh. The village of Mahastan in the Bogra region contains the remains of an ancient city called Pundranagara or Paundravardhanapura.

Remains of a limestone slab with an inscription on six lines, discovered in 1931, date this building to the third century BC, and the fortress was residential and was used for its intended purpose until the 18th century AD. Together with ancient and medieval ruins, a majar (tomb) of Shah-Sultan Balkhi Mahisavar was found here, built on the site of a Hindu temple. He was a dervish from a royal lineage who spread Islam among non-Muslims.

The first mentions of Mahastan were found in a Sanskrit text from the 13th century, it also had another name - the province of Pundranagara, the city of Pundras. According to documents from 1685, it was an administrative center, a well fortified city. The archaeological find was discovered in 1808 by Francis Buchanan-Hamilton.

The location on a hill (15-25 m above the surrounding area) and the then deep Karatoya River nearby gave the fortress city undeniable advantages in defense. Excavations of the citadel, begun in 1920, made it possible to see the wide and high walls stretching 1,523 km from north to south and 1,371 kilometers from east to west. The total area of the fortress is approximately 185 hectares. At the beginning of archaeological work, the walls and ramparts looked like mountains of mud with holes at several points, a tomb on the southeast side. Later, a mosque was discovered from 1718-1719. the buildings.

Today in Mahasthangarh you can see the ruins of ancient shrines, palaces and burial places of people significant for the city, there were also found: a stone statue of Buddha transported from the Vasua Vihara monastery, coins, fragments of ceramics, terracotta memorial plaques, images of bronze Ganesha and Garuda. The foundations of a 15-domed mosque (15-16 century) were discovered. Many finds are on display in the local museum.

Getting to Mahasthangarh is easier from Bogra, it is located just 11 km. The journey from Dhaka will take 4.5 hours with a crossing over the river over the bridge. Archaeological work is carried out here to this day, this city is one of the candidates for the list of UNESCO protected sites.

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Topic: Ruins of Mahasthangarh description and photos - Bangladesh: Bogra.