Wari-Bateshwar

Wari-Bateshwar is an archaeological site located at Belabo and Shibopura upzilas of Narsingdi district. Unearthed by archaeologists in 2000, it is believed to be a citadel or fortified city, which is now buried underground. According to radio-carbon dating, the well-planned settlement is believed to be as old as 2,500 years old.   

The discovery of Wari-Bateshwar is an interesting story. Wari and Bateshwar are two adjacent villages. In 1933, at Wari village, some local diggers found a pot full of ancient coins. Hanif Pathan, a local school teacher, collected 20 to 30 of the ancient coins from them and at different times, he found some archaeological artifacts in the village. He told his son, Habibullah Pathan, of his finds and the latter started to research the sites.

In 1996, an archaeological survey of the area was done. In 2000, a group of teachers and students from Jahangirnagar University’s archaeology department went on a digging expedition and uncovered part of the lost city of ‘Wari-Bateshwar’. The archaeological dig is continuing under the supervision of Sufi Mostafizur Rahman, a professor of JU, and his organisation, Oitihya-Onneswan.

The ancient site is very important to the history of Bangladesh and the Indian Subcontinent as a whole.

The city, believed to be from 600BC to 400 BC, in contemporary to Magadha, Kashi, Kosala archaeological sites. It thought a ‘janapada’ or state existed there and Wari-Bateshwar was its capital.

Wari-Bateshwar was likely linked to the Silk Road, the ancient trade route from China to Europe, and it was connected to ancient Egyptian and Roman civilisations. Ancient pottery, like a rolled pot, which is from the Mediterranean, wired or bronzed pottery, which is from Southeast Asia, were found at Wari-Bateshwar which testify to our direct or indirect trade with those regions.

Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti, a professor of South Asian archeology at Cambridge University, UK, believes Wari-Bateshwar had contact with Southeast Asia and the Roman Empire because of all the materials discovered there that include rouletted ware, sandwich glass beads, gold-covered glass beads, tin-mixed bronze, etc.  

Pit-dwelling is another amazing discovery of Wari-Bateshwar. A storeroom for food preservation, a living room and a well have been found in pit houses. Similar settlement elements have been discovered at Imamgaon, Maharashtra, India.  

“Human settlement started in the Wari-Bateshwar region from prehistoric period. The region experienced Chalcolithic culture, or pit-dwelling, and enjoyed the status of the earliest state in Bangladesh around 6th Century BC. It was a port city on the bank of the Old Brahmaputra River. Wari-Bateshwar had commercial ties with Southeast Asia and the Mediterranean region. It is assumed that Wari-Bateshwar was Gangaridai, a state that existed during the time of Alexander of Macedonia,” said Shohrab Uddin, an assistant professor at Comilla University and a researcher at the archaeological site.

The discovery of 50 archaeological sites in the Wari-Bateshwar area, stones and stone fossils from prehistoric era, wooden tools, and references in the history of the region are significant. Wari-Bateshwar was probably the oldest city in Bangladesh. n

The writer is a student of Department of Archaeology, Comilla University.

References: Ancient Bangladesh, by Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti (Oxford University Press, Delhi 1992); Wari-Bateswar Sekarera Sandhane - Sufi Mostafizur Rahman and Muhammad Habibullah Pathan,

Prathma, January, 2012.

Photos: Oitihya-Onneswan, Internet.

Wari-Bateshwar

Wari-Bateshwar is an archaeological site located at Belabo and Shibopura upzilas of Narsingdi district. Unearthed by archaeologists in 2000, it is believed to be a citadel or fortified city, which is now buried underground. According to radio-carbon dating, the well-planned settlement is believed to be as old as 2,500 years old. The discovery of Wari-Bateshwar is an interesting story. Wari and Bateshwar are two adjacent villages. In 1933, at Wari village, some local diggers found a pot full of ancient coins. Hanif Pathan, a local school teacher, collected 20 to 30 of the ancient coins from them and at different times, he found some archaeological artifacts in the village. He told his son, Habibullah Pathan, of his finds and the latter started to research the sites. In 1996, an archaeological survey of the area was done. In 2000, a group of teachers and students from Jahangirnagar Universitys archaeology department went on a digging expedition and uncovered part of the lost city of Wari-Bateshwar. The archaeological dig is continuing under the supervision of Sufi Mostafizur Rahman, a professor of JU, and his organisation, Oitihya-Onneswan. The ancient site is very important to the history of Bangladesh and the Indian Subcontinent as a whole. The city, believed to be from 600BC to 400 BC, in contemporary to Magadha, Kashi, Kosala archaeological sites. It thought a janapada or state existed there and Wari-Bateshwar was its capital. Wari-Bateshwar was likely linked to the Silk Road, the ancient trade route from China to Europe, and it was connected to ancient Egyptian and Roman civilisations. Ancient pottery, like a rolled pot, which is from the Mediterranean, wired or bronzed pottery, which is from Southeast Asia, were found at Wari-Bateshwar which testify to our direct or indirect trade with those regions. Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti, a professor of South Asian archeology at Cambridge University, UK, believes Wari-Bateshwar had contact with Southeast Asia and the Roman Empire because of all the materials discovered there that include rouletted ware, sandwich glass beads, gold-covered glass beads, tin-mixed bronze, etc. Pit-dwelling is another amazing discovery of Wari-Bateshwar. A storeroom for food preservation, a living room and a well have been found in pit houses. Similar settlement elements have been discovered at Imamgaon, Maharashtra, India. Human settlement started in the Wari-Bateshwar region from prehistoric period. The region experienced Chalcolithic culture, or pit-dwelling, and enjoyed the status of the earliest state in Bangladesh around 6th Century BC. It was a port city on the bank of the Old Brahmaputra River. Wari-Bateshwar had commercial ties with Southeast Asia and the Mediterranean region. It is assumed that Wari-Bateshwar was Gangaridai, a state that existed during the time of Alexander of Macedonia, said Shohrab Uddin, an assistant professor at Comilla University and a researcher at the archaeological site. The discovery of 50 archaeological sites in the Wari-Bateshwar area, stones and stone fossils from prehistoric era, wooden tools, and references in the history of the region are significant. Wari-Bateshwar was probably the oldest city in Bangladesh. n The writer is a student of Department of Archaeology, Comilla University. References: Ancient Bangladesh, by Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti (Oxford University Press, Delhi 1992); Wari-Bateswar Sekarera Sandhane - Sufi Mostafizur Rahman and Muhammad Habibullah Pathan, Prathma, January, 2012. Photos: Oitihya-Onneswan, Internet.