Ancient brick fort excavated in Nilphamari

A team of archaeologists has recently excavated an ancient brick-built fort-like structure at Dharma Pal Garh site in Jaldhaka upazila of Nilphamari district. Naheed Sultana, regional director of the department of archaeology, said the structures were constructed around 1,000 years ago. “The fort was most probably built by King Dharmapala, who was the son of King Harshapala of the kingdom of Kamrup,” said Sultana. A seven-member team, headed by Sultana, started the excavation on January 1. Francis Buchanan-Hamilton (1762–1829), a Scottish physician who made significant contributions as a geographer, zoologist, and botanist in India, identified the area in a survey during his visit to Bengal in 1807–08. The archaeology department declared the site a protected one on March 19, 1987, and conducted an excavation in 1990 for the first time. The department again conducted a survey at Dharma Pal Garh site recently, after 26 years, and started an excavation to obtain archaeological evidence.
Team leader and custodian, Md. Mojibur Rahman, said some archaeological objects, including lids and potsherds, were unearthed during the excavation. The seven-member team included Abu Imam Md. Tanvirul, custodian of Tajhat Museum, Rangpur; Hasanath Bin Islam, research assistant; Afzal Hossain, senior draftsman; Abul Kalam Azad, senior photographer; and Lokman Hossain, surveyor of the department. The team will continue the excavation over the next one-and-half months to seek more evidence.

 

 

Ancient brick fort excavated in Nilphamari

A team of archaeologists has recently excavated an ancient brick-built fort-like structure at Dharma Pal Garh site in Jaldhaka upazila of Nilphamari district. Naheed Sultana, regional director of the department of archaeology, said the structures were constructed around 1,000 years ago. The fort was most probably built by King Dharmapala, who was the son of King Harshapala of the kingdom of Kamrup, said Sultana. A seven-member team, headed by Sultana, started the excavation on January 1. Francis Buchanan-Hamilton (17621829), a Scottish physician who made significant contributions as a geographer, zoologist, and botanist in India, identified the area in a survey during his visit to Bengal in 180708. The archaeology department declared the site a protected one on March 19, 1987, and conducted an excavation in 1990 for the first time. The department again conducted a survey at Dharma Pal Garh site recently, after 26 years, and started an excavation to obtain archaeological evidence. Team leader and custodian, Md. Mojibur Rahman, said some archaeological objects, including lids and potsherds, were unearthed during the excavation. The seven-member team included Abu Imam Md. Tanvirul, custodian of Tajhat Museum, Rangpur; Hasanath Bin Islam, research assistant; Afzal Hossain, senior draftsman; Abul Kalam Azad, senior photographer; and Lokman Hossain, surveyor of the department. The team will continue the excavation over the next one-and-half months to seek more evidence.