<i>Relics found in Dinajpur date back to 10th century</i>

The western wing of the first excavated ancient Buddhist monastery in Nawabganj of Dinajpur by the Department of Archaeology at Jahangirnagar University. Cells of the second monastery, inset, of the same period, excavated by the same team of archaeologists in a nearby area. Photo: Star

Archaeologists of Jahangirnagar University have postulated that the recently excavated remains and relics of three Buddhist monasteries at Nawabganj in Dinajpur district are of 10 th-11th centuries AD.
Director of the excavation team Ecological Archaeology Group Asst Prof Swadhin Sen of JU believes that the monasteries belong to the Pala dynasty when the region -- Rajshahi, Bogra, Pabna and Dinajpur (both in India and Bangladesh) -- was known as Varendra.
He said assemblages of pottery found during the excavations have been compared to the stratigraphically indexed pottery from Mahasthan and Maldah in West Bengal. The well and brick structures also indicate that these Buddhist ruins belong tentatively to the 10th -11th century AD.
He said this is the first time in Bangladesh that three monasteries within the proximity of six square miles have been excavated in the northern part of the country.
Led by Prof Syed Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan of the same department, the team has been executing a systematic and detailed exploration and mapping the site for the last three years.
The archaeological potential of the area was first recognised in 2001, during an exploration by the teachers and students of the department.
Swadhin Sen told to The Daily Star that they excavated two sites in 2006 and discovered remains of two Buddhist monasteries and a Chaitya (a small shrine).
The first monastery is a square with a row of rooms with verandas in the east side. About 10 metres south from there, archaeologists found a small shrine with a staircase leading back to the monastery.
The ruins of the second monastery were found 30 metres southeast from the first one. The remains were only partial as the locals destroyed the main mound, said Swadhin Sen, adding that the remaining two cells with a veranda were in a dilapidated state.
The third monastery was excavated in 2008.
This year the archaeologists confirmed its existence 300 metres southeast from the first one. They analysed the alignments and patterns of tunnels dug by robbers for looting and the exposed walls.
Swadhin Sen alleged that ignorant of historical significance the nearby brickfields are destroying the ruins.