The international illicit traffic of cultural properties keeps increasing worldwide which inspire... more The international illicit traffic of cultural properties keeps increasing worldwide which inspires robbery, looting in museums and collection houses. This affects museums, public and private collections, genuine owners, religious buildings, cultural institutions and archaeological sites worldwide. The rich cultural heritage of Bangladesh has been facing this problem for a long time. In this article an attempt is made to sketch the significant part of disinheriting cultural property of Bangladesh due to illicit trafficking. This article also proposes several measures to reduce the illicit trafficking of cultural property from Bangladesh.
Pratnatattava (Journal of the Department of Archaeology, Jahangirnagar University) , 2009
The present research will focus only on the temples of Meherpur district to document and classify... more The present research will focus only on the temples of Meherpur district to document and classify them. Ten temples are documented with their architectural features, decorations, materials, types and probable periods of construction in this research. Among the temples the char-chala and at-chala temples are more common. Ten temples, which were built within a couple of centuries in a small area, indicate the strong and favourable environment of practicing Hindu religion. It also indicates that rich patronizing groups lived in Meherpur and were interested in establishing temples. We know that during the Permanent Settlement in 1793, Nadia was divided into 261 taluks and 205 individual zamindars were selected to collect the revenue. This new zamindar community had shown tendency in constructing temples to achieve the social recognition. The temples of Meherpur district were built to fulfil the desire to achieve social status of the local zamindars like the Mallik, Mukherjee, Gupti etc. families. This research presents three (Mallik Bari Temple Complex, Shyampur temple and Kathuli temple) unnoticed temples of Meherpur district. It is mentioned here that through this research a new type of nata-mandapa i.e. Domed natamandapa is noticed for the first time in Meherpur from all over Bengal. Most of the temples are survive in a poor condition. We hope the authority will take necessary steps to safeguard these heritages for the next generation.
Pratnatattava (Journal of the Department of Archaeology, Jahangirnagar University), 2010
Any undesirable change in the properties of a material caused by the activities of living organis... more Any undesirable change in the properties of a material caused by the activities of living organism is called 'bio-deterioration'. The agents of bio-deterioration i.e. bio-deteriogens are highly activated on brick-built archaeological monuments in the tropical environment. As Bangladesh is located in the tropical monsoon region, bio-deteriogens are frequently grown on the brick-built archaeological monuments and create immeasurable destructions. In this research, Darasbari Mosque, Nawabganj is selected as a case study to identify the bio-deteriogens and their mechanisms. The research also suggests the curative and preventive measures against bio-deterioration on brick-built archaeological monuments.
Selected Essays on History and Archaeology- Papers Presented in Memory of Professor Abu Imam (M.M. Hoque, A.T.M. Atiqur Rahman and Seema Hoque Eds.), 2010
issued punch-marked coins. Besides these Janapadas, D. Rajgor (2001: 88, 94, 164) mentioned anoth... more issued punch-marked coins. Besides these Janapadas, D. Rajgor (2001: 88, 94, 164) mentioned another three Janapadas that issued punch-marked coins. These Janapadas are Kuntala, Shakya and Kuru. The coins of Sursena, Uttar Panchala, Dakshin Panchala, Kunala, Ashmaka and Surashtra bear only one symbol, whereas the other Janapadas issued coins with four symbols. Gandhara issued one hundred ratti bent-bar or wheel-marked coins. The coins of Surashtra are thin and small and weighed fifteen grains only. The coins of Vatsa, Kosala, Kasi, Magadha, Kalinga and Andhra Janapadas are thin in fabric and the ones of Malla and Mulaka are thick (Gupta 1969: 7-16). In fact, the coins of various Janapadas differed from one other in their execution, fabric, weight, quality of metal and symbology (Gupta 1969: 9). These punch-marked coins are called Janapada or Local punch-marked coins (Gupta 1969: 7-16; Goyal 1994: 86-87). Among the Janapadas, Magadha was very powerful and showed the tendency towards centralization. Most of these Janapadas were subsequently absorbed into Magadhan Empire during the period of Bimbisara (ca. 543-491 BCE), Ajatasatru (ca. 491-459 BCE) and their successors of the Brihadratha dynasty (Chattopadhyay 1983: 113-131). The next dynasty of Magadha i.e. the Saisunaga dynasty (ca. 430-364 BCE) shifted the capital from Rajgir to Pataliputra (modern Patna, Bihar) and minted a new series of coinage (Gupta and Hardaker 1985: 1). The Janapada punch-marked coins gradually disappeared by the end of the 4th century BCE when Magadhan Empire expanded. The new series of coins were different in number of symbols and weight from the Janapada coins. The Post-Janapada punch-marked coins bear five symbols on the obverse and weighed thirty-two rattis standard and popularly known as karshapana or Imperial punch-marked coin. The new coinage was to be the model for the later coinage of Magadhan Empire and its successors under the Nanda (ca. 364-324 BCE) and Mauryan (ca. 324-187 BCE.) dynasties. The Nanda and Mauryan dynasties ruled Indian sub-continent for about four hundred years and their currency karshapanas were circulated in various parts of the country. General Features of Punch-marked Coins Symbols: Writing on coins was not a common practice when punch-marked coins were issued. Except a few examples of inscribed punch-marked coins found in central India (Mangalam 1991: 13-17), punch-marked coins usually do not contain any inscription or legend. But they usually contain some curious symbols. The positioning of symbols is more or less at random though they tend to fall partly of the edge of the flan and on larger coins there are attempts to avoid overlapping. But most of the times the symbols overlapped with each other. On the other hand, on some coins the symbols have weathered during their long currency. Therefore, the symbols are difficult to identify properly. In spite of these difficulties, P.L. Gupta
for their support in various purposes. It is my great pleasure to remember all of them at the tim... more for their support in various purposes. It is my great pleasure to remember all of them at the time of publishing this book.
Protno Chorcha (Journal of the Department of Archaeology, Government of Bangladesh), 8: 59-80., 2020
A large number of ancient coins were discovered from all over Bangladesh. The important discoveri... more A large number of ancient coins were discovered from all over Bangladesh. The important discoveries were from Mahasthan of Shibganj thana in Bogra (punch-marked coin, copper cast coin, Kushana coin, Gupta coin), Fetgram of Manda thana in Naogaon (punch-marked coin), Baigachha of Bagmara thana in Rajshahi (punch-marked coin), Shahebgonj of Gaibandha district (punch-marked coins, Gupta coins), Paharpur of Badalgachi thana in Naogaon, (Pala coin?), Mainamati region of Comilla Sadar thana in Comilla (Gupta coins, Post-Gupta Coins, Harikela coins), Natore (punch-marked coin) and Wari-Bateshwar of Belabo thana in Narsingdi (punch-marked coin) districts etc. These coins are mainly preserved in the cabinets of Bangladesh National Museum, Department of Archaeology, Government of Bangladesh and Varendra Research Museum. Besides, a good number of coins are collected by the private coin collectors all over Bangladesh. Professor Muntassir Mamoon, Department of History, University of Dhaka is a private coin collector. Professor Mamoon is kind enough to give us opportunity to study 51 punch-marked coins for this study. These collections are mainly chance finds and are not related with any hoard or any archaeological excavation. According to him these coins were purchased from a coin dealer. All these coins are not yet published and nothing more is known about the original context of the find spots of these coins. The systematic study on the obtained records can be a source of the history and culture of Bangladesh. 2. Objectives i) To catalogue and classify the punch-marked coins of Professor Muntassir Mamoon Collection through systematic studies. ii) To evaluate the existing typology of punch-marked coins of the Imperial Series of the Indian sub-continent carried out by Gupta and Hadeker (1985) through evidence focused by the present research.
Pratnatattva Journal of the Dept. of Archaeology Jahangirnagar University, Vol. 26, June 2020: 1-18 ISSN 1560-7593, 2020
Food is an integral part of human life since the origin which constitutes a vast array of behavio... more Food is an integral part of human life since the origin which constitutes a vast array of behavioural practice are considered inherent characteristics of a culture. Thus, understanding past human culture, ingredients of food, cuisine, etiquette, serving manner, preparation procedure, beliefs, are fundamental. New archaeology is indispensably interested to explain how and why a particular set of function, belief or behaviour subsumed into the past human culture rather than simply describing (what) the phenomenon. Despite having a substantial paucity of existing literature on the food culture of early Bengal the present article illuminates the major ingredients of making meal based on hardcore archaeological evidence for the first time in the history of Bengal along with considering the early religious/mythological (pouranic) literatures. The article could be regarded as the base, a preliminary step, of the study of food, cuisine and the sociology of early subsistence study and, indeed, should help to delve to understand the wider dynamics regarding the archaeology of food in the early Bengal. Available data indicates that plant food had been preferred more than that of animal (cf. meat) in early Bengal. It has been assumed that food of early Bengal could have been delicious and nutritious as diverse plant food materials had been available. It had a rich array of crop grains for making the meal; rice, millets, wheat, and barley along with diverse pulses that might imply the authenticity of proverb ‘Dal-Vat’. Having found a substantial number of fishbone and net sinkers from archaeological sites could suggest that rice along with fish predominantly shaped the subsistence strategy which confirms the popular Bengali proverb ‘mache-vate Bangali’. Variegated fruits and vegetable would have been part of their daily intake since the beginning of human settlement in early Bengal. They enjoyed a significant proportion of liquid food; milk, varieties of alcoholic drinks along with sugarcane juice, date sap and coconut water. It is assumed that milk and dairy food products like yoghurt and butter were highly popular to consume along with to prepare cuisine and enhancing their aroma and test. Varieties of food items, e.g., cakes (pitha and payes) and sweets, were prepared by using sugar, milk and rice. It is evident that the environment and landscapes were responsible for shaping the dominant subsistence regime of early Bengal despite having a significant social and religious influence. Literary sources might well provide evidence that Brahmanism could shape the behavioural pattern of the food culture that was largely based on disparity; cast system, of early Bengal.
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