Ancient monuments unearthed near the Sundarbans of Bangladesh

Representative image

A civilization dating back to 1,000-1,200 years has been found in the vicinity of the world’s largest coastal mangrove forest in Sundarbans. Around the time of the Pala Empire, from the 8th to 12th century, or possibly even older, this site has been unearthed in Rezakpur village of Khulna. An ancient settlement with a structure resembling a temple has been found. Several artifacts including fragments of terracotta, ceramic and earthenware potteries, burnt rice, cowries and idols have been discovered.

A team of archaeologists from the Department of Archeology, Khulna started excavation in the area from March 12 and plans to continue the work. They are hopeful of finding more traces of religious and commercial establishments, including ancient settlements. A flurry of activities begins at Rezakpur area every morning as excavators dig an area of about 250 meters in length and 160 meters in width. After digging about 6 feet deep, a large portion of the original archeological site has been uncovered and small thick brick walls are visible. A group is busy collecting samples and recording them. The work is being done with utmost care so that no pattern is damaged accidentally. And the entire work is being supervised by team leader, Afroza Khan. About 30 workers are involved in this project. The Department of Archeology has initiated a detailed examination of the specimens including grains of rice found at the site to find out the exact period when this civilization flourished. 

Satish Chandra Mitra, in his Jessore-Khulnar Itihas (A History of Jessore and Khulna) published in 1914, mentions various archeological sites and places in the Kapilmuni-Agra area. Abul Kalam Mohammad Zakaria in his book, ‘Bangladesher Pratnasampad’ (Archaeological Resources of Bangladesh) mentions archeological ruins and a mound in the then village of Agra covering an area of about 14 km from Tala of Satkhira to Chandkhali of Paikgachha Upazila of Khulna.

Traditionally, the primary occupation of the majority of people of this brackish area near the Sundarbans was believed to be fishing and salt farming just like the ones on the Indian side of Sundarbans in West Bengal. Till recently, rice cultivation in the saline land was not possible and there was no evidence of paddy fields in this area. However, the discovery of rice grains from the excavation site has opened up new avenues of field study for historians and archaeologists. It is evident from the findings that the south-west part had well-developed infrastructure, including organized, planned settlements and farming was widely practiced as a means of livelihood.   In fact, these findings are challenging the history of the Sundarbans.

There is not much documentation of the history of the Sundarbans prior to the Mughal period. The first attempt at mapping the Sundarbans was made in 1764 after the region was brought under the East India Company from the Mughal Emperor, Alamgir II. The area came under proper government administration only from the 1860s when the forest department was established. However, they never made a detailed archaeological study of the area. Subsequently, some of the forests were cleared for settlements.

Bharat Bhayna village in Keshabpur, Jessore has archeological finds dating back to about 5th and 6th century AD. Locally known as Bharater (Rajar) Deul, the monument is said to be an early historic Buddhist temple, built between 5th and 6th century AD which was buried under the soil for centuries. According to historians and archaeologists, the design of the installation in Rezakpur and other patterns have been found to be almost identical to the ones discovered at Bharat Bhayna village. Based on this discovery, archeologists believe the relics of Rezakpur may be 1,200 years old. Apart from this, the installations found in several places including Shekhertek inside the Sundarbans are similar to installations found in Rezakpur.

The scientific way to determine the probable era of a civilization is based on architectural designs, brick sizes, sculptures and other building materials and comparing them with similar items found elsewhere. Prior to the pre-Islamic era, large bricks were used in Bengal for construction. The bricks recovered from the archeological site at Rezakpur are between 18 to 22 cms and 22 to 36 cms long and six cms thick. The dimensions of these bricks are similar to the ones found at Bharat Bhayna, and hence it can be surmised that the civilization discovered at Rezakpur dates back to the Gupta period, which is roughly the 5th century AD. 

A team of archaeologists from the Department of Archeology, Khulna started excavation in the area from March 12 and plans to continue the work. They are hopeful of finding more traces of religious and commercial establishments, including ancient settlements. A flurry of activities begins at Rezakpur area every morning as excavators dig an area of about 250 meters in length and 160 meters in width. After digging about 6 feet deep, a large portion of the original archeological site has been uncovered and small thick brick walls are visible. A group is busy collecting samples and recording them.

Satish Chandra Mitra, in his Jessore-Khulnar Itihas (A History of Jessore and Khulna) published in 1914, mentions various archeological sites and places in the Kapilmuni-Agra area. Abul Kalam Mohammad Zakaria in his book, ‘Bangladesher Pratnasampad’ (Archaeological Resources of Bangladesh) mentions archeological ruins and a mound in the then village of Agra covering an area of about 14 km from Tala of Satkhira to Chandkhali of Paikgachha Upazila of Khulna. The book mentions that the remains of ancient architecture were found by digging one of these mounds. But no details of that excavation are available.

The entire Sundarbans before partition was a flourishing settlement. The vessels leaving from Tamralipti (the modern-day Tamluk near Haldia port) might have used the area on the way to Java, Sumatra, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Ganga shifted its course over the years and the settlements also moved away. There is geological work to suggest that delta building activity has shifted eastwards. The Portuguese and Burmese pirates also caused large-scale devastation to the settlements near the coast. However, the real archeological work in the region is yet to be done.