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If you enjoy learning about ancient civilization and cultures like me, you will be fascinated to know about Wari-Bateshwar, an ancient fort city that flourished in what is now Bangladesh over 2,500 years ago. In this article, I will tell you about the interesting history and discoveries of this ancient civilization

Brief Overview

Wari-Bateshwar is a famous archaeological site in Bangladesh. Actually, Wari and Bateshwar are two villages in the Narsingdi District of Bangladesh. In these two villages, archaeologists discovered Asom Rajar Grah, one of Bangladesh’s most important archaeological sites. Archaeologists believe these sites are ruins of a nearly 2500 years old fort city.

This historical place is 70 kilometers away from Dhaka. Wari-Bateshwar is located on a remote part of the Pleistocene terrace at Manohardi-Shibpur. The site is separated from the Madhupur tract by the old Brahmaputra River and the Laksya River.

Discovery of the Fort City

In 1933, some laborers found a vessel full of ancient coins while digging a field in Wari. They sold most of the coins to the local merchants. Schoolteacher Mohammad Hanif Pathan (1901-89) heard the news. Then, he succeeded in collecting 20 to 30 coins from the day laborers. He realized the coins were among the oldest in the Indian subcontinent.
This makes Hanif Pathan the first person to collect archaeological artifacts from Wari and Bateshwar. Later, he informed his son Habibullah Pathan about the archaeological significance of Wari-Bateshwar. Since then, father and son have collected many relics from Asom Rajar Garh and surrounding areas. They also built a personal museum in their ancestral house.

In 1955, some diggers found two metal-made objects while digging on the grounds of Bateshwar village. Habibullah Pathan heard the news. He met with the diggers, collected the objects, and brought them to his father. The mysterious objects were triangular, and they had sharp edges.

Back then, the Pathans did not know the value of these objects. They were Iron hand axes used before the Christian era. After that, Hanif Pathan wrote an essay on Wari-Bateshwar. It was published in the newspaper “The Daily Azad” on 30 January 1955.

Next year, in 1956, a man found an old depot full of ancient silver coins from the Wari-Bateshwar site. The storage was buried deep under the ground. There were more than 4000 silver coins. The Pathans rushed to the site upon hearing the news.
Unfortunately, the Pathans were not influential enough to keep the coins for themselves. They helplessly saw the coins sold elsewhere. Eventually, the coins got lost.

Museum Donations

Hanif Pathan and Habibullah Pathan wanted to find out more about the sites. In fact, they requested the authorities of the Dhaka Museum to conduct research on the current sites of Wari-Bateshwar. But, there were only a few visits from the museum and no significant initiatives.

Habibullah Pathan continued his search for relics in various locations for many more years. He submitted many artifacts to The Dhaka National Museum between 1974 to 1975. We will learn more about these artifacts in later episodes of Wari-Bateshwar.

Recent Excavations and Research

After many years, serious excavations began in Wari-Bateshwar. In 2000, professor Sufi Mustafizur Rahman of Jahangirnagar University and his team excavated the sites of Wari-Bateshwar. The team explored to understand the importance of the site.

Later on, the Archaeological Department of Bangladesh also started excavating the place. The government excavated the sites initially in 2003-2004 and continued through 2005-2006.

At the same time, a private organization, “Aitijjho Anneshon,” took the initiative to excavate the place. Currently, this organization is working hand in hand with the government to research on War-Bateshwar.

Results of the Excavations

The diggings in Wari-Bateshwar revealed a lot about the ancient history of Bangladesh. The Archaeologists uncovered the ruins of two thousand and five hundred years old fort city. Nearly 50 archaeological sites were found inside and around Wari-Bateshwar. Ruins of fort walls, brick structures, streets, temples, and remains of a port have been discovered at these sites.
Let’s learn more about these discoveries:

Structural Remains

The excavations uncovered ruins of two fortified areas. Hence, the areas are the inner fort area and the outer fort area. There are four mud ramparts in the 600m x 600m area of Wari-Bateshwar. These ramparts are almost destroyed because of natural causes and human activities.
The moat surrounding the fortifications silted up and gradually turned into paddy fields. However, some of its remnants are still visible. The outer fort area exists in the south and southwest part of Wari-Bateshwar.

There is also a mud rampart. Local people call it Asom Razar Garh. According to local beliefs, during the late 16th century or early 17th century, an Assamese king came to this fort city to take refuge. The king used the city as a defense to hold back invasions from both the Pathans and the Mughals.

Ancient Road and Pyramid Structure

The excavation team led by Sufi Mustafizur Rahman also found an ancient road made of lime-surki. The archaeologists also found a brick-built structure similar to an upside-down pyramid in Wari. But they are not sure about the use and purpose of such a structure in the area. The pyramids get narrower step by step.
This kind of structure is not suitable for reserving water or crops. They are known as Pit- Dwelling. They were mainly used in desert areas for living and blocking hot air. Therefore, the existence of the structure in this environment of Wari-Bateshwar creates many suspicions about the past climate in this area.

Temples

The ruins of a Buddh Padma temple, locally known as “Padda Mandir” have been discovered eight kilometers from Wari-Bateshwar in Shibpur Upazila. A Buddhist Bihar is also located in the village of Jankhartake. It is a 24m X 24m square shape structure. About 15 Buddhist monks could have resided in this Bihar.
These constructions give vital information about the religious belief of the people. It means the fort city extended far and wide. It also verifies that people were Buddhists and were pious enough to establish temples.

Was Wari-Bateshwar Sonagara or Gangaridai?

The archaeologists have inspected the structures and artifacts. After much research, they have concluded that the city was alive during 450 BC. Many archaeologists believe that Wari-Bateshwar was a significant port city in Bengal when it was fully functioning.

Some evidence indicates the city extended its business through the Brahmaputra River and reached the Bay of Bengal. The fort city might have expanded its business from southeast Asia to faraway lands of the Roman Empire.

Some archeologists believe Wari-Bateshwar might be the historical Sonagara or Gangaridai. In support of the claim, they mention Ptolemy, a famous Roman geographer and mathematician who described Gangaridai in his book Geographia. We will learn more about Gangaridai and Sonagara in our next episodes.

References

• Hamid, Kazi Kawsar. “Wari-Bateshwar: The Story Of An Ancient Fort City.” Daily Sun, 2018, www.daily-sun.com/post/332579/2018/08/30/WariBateshwar:-The-Story-Of-An-Ancient-Fort-City-.
• Hossain, Emran. “Wari-Bateshwar One of Earliest Kingdoms.” The Daily Star, The Daily Star, 18 Mar 2008, www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-28431.
• Jahan, Shahnaj Husne. “Archaeology of Wari-Bateshwar.” Ancient Asia, vol. 2, 2010, p. 135, doi:10.5334/aa.10210.
• Rahman, Sufi Mostafizur. Wari-Bateshwar Shekorer Sondhane. Prothoma, 2017.
• Salim, MD Adnan Arif. Pratnocharchai Bangladesh. Prakriti-Porichoy,2015.
• “Wari Bateshwar.” Tongi Industrial Area Comments, offroadbangladesh.com/places/wari- bateshwar/.
• “Wari-Bateshwar.” Bengal British India Society – Banglapedia, 2015, en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Wari-Bateshwar.

Wari-Bateshwar: The Ancient Fort City of Bangladesh; By Umme Hanee is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.