Selective Archeological Sources (Primary):

Wari Bateshwar, Vikrampur

Course Teacher: Samila Nowshin

Department of History and Philosophy
North South University
 Wari Bateshwar
• Wari-Bateshwar an archaeological site in Narsinghdi district of Bangladesh.
Cultivation of land, digging drains, cutting garbage-pit and red soil for building
local traditional mud-house and other household activities of the local people
regularly turn the surface upside down which expose the objects of ancient
people in Wari-Bateshwar. In addition, after rain fall, wonderful beads of semi-
precious stone and glass, silver punch-marked coins etc. are rinsed out which
results into clear visibility.
• A two thousand five hundred year old fort-city was discovered at Wari-
Bateshwar, after extensive exploration and limited excavation. In the 600m x
600m fortified enclosure, there are four mud ramparts. Though most of the parts
of the ancient ramparts have been destroyed but evidence of 5-7 feet height walls
still exist in some places. The ramparts are surrounded by moats, which, in the
course of time, silted up and turned into paddy fields. However, the eastern part
of the silted moat can easily be visualized.
• In the west and south-west side of Wari-Bateshwar citadel, there is a 5.8 km
long, 20m wide and 10 m high mud rampart known as Asom Razar Garh. Most
probably this was linked to the defensive system of Wari-Bateshwar fort-city
which can be considered as the second fortification wall.
• So far 50 archaeological sites have been discovered in and around Wair-
Bateshwar fort-city located by the bank of the river Old Brahmaputra. It is
evident from the pattern of the archaeological sites that the ancient people
established their settlements in the flood-free zone. This is also evidence of the
knowledge of developed town planning and the intellectual height of the ancient
settlers. Also, it is assumed that they used to live by agriculture and their
surplus food productions were used to fulfil the necessity of the businessmen,
priests and royal officials - those who lived in the city.
• Wari-Bateshwar is called a fort-city, city or urban centre. Wari-Bateshwar was
the city formed by such urbanisation process. Analyses of discovered artifacts
also show Wari-Bateshwar as an affluent trade center.
• In recent archaeological excavation, brick-built architectures were discovered
which is one of the important characteristics of urbanisation. During
archaeological excavation, a 160 meter long lime-surki made road with 31-meter
long by-lane has been found.
• The ancient inhabitants of Wari-Bateshwar were familiar with developed technical
knowledge. By cutting the stone, they could manufacture beads. Raw
materials, chips and flakes of semi-precious stone bead manufacture have been
discovered during excavation. Through using different types of chemicals, they
could decorate the beads. They could also coat the northern black polished ware
using different chemicals. High technology was used to control the temperature
during pottery manufacture.
• The location of Wari-Bateshwar fort-city and Asom Rajar Garh prove that, the
inhabitants were experts in geometric knowledge. These factors indicate the
ancient inhabitants’ close acquaintance with technological and scientific
knowledge as well evidently indicate their artistic sense, adoration of beauty and
skills in several technological works.
• Northern Black Polished Ware has a close relationship with urban culture.
Generally northern black polished wares are found in the archaeological sites of
the second urbanisation of the subcontinent. It is said that to meet the practical
needs of the rulers and traders of the second urbanisation, these northern black
polished wares were produced.
• For the presence of Old Brahmaputra river, it is assumed that Wari-Bateshwar
was a river port and a trade centre. From the discovery of semi-precious stone
beads made of agate, quartz, jasper, carnelian, amethyst, chalcedony etc. many
scholars mention that Wari-Bateshwar might be the Souanagoura a trading
centre which was mentioned by Ptolemy (2nd century geographer).
• Rouletted Ware, sandwich glass bead, knobbed ware, northern black polished
ware, different beads, amulets and pendants etc. confirmed that Wari-Bateshwar
had close connection with the contemporary several places of Indian
subcontinent.
• It is also assumed that outside Indian subcontinent, Wari-Bateshwar had
relations with South-east Asia and the Mediterranean also. Buddhist source
Jataka and other ancient literatures mentioned about the contact between
Indian subcontinent and the South-east Asia.
• They knew the technique of coin manufacture by melting metal. They had
the knowledge of iron processing. In Wari-Bateshwar, two types of silver
punch-marked coins have been discovered. One type is Janapada or pre-
Mauryan silver punch-marked coins. In the subcontinent the Janapada coins
were circulated from c. 600 BCE to 400 BCE. The discovery of Janapada
coins places Wari-Bateshwar back to the Sodosha Maha Janapada (16 Major
Janapadas) c. 600-400 BCE, kingdom of Indian subcontinent.
• In recent archaeological excavation evidence of human settlement has been
discovered which bears the character of Chalcolithic culture. In Wari-
Bateshwar the most important discovery of the chalcolithic culture is black
and red ware and evidence of pit-dwelling.
• Several evidence of pit-dwelling has been discovered at Inamgaon,
Maharashtra, India. Ethnoarchaeological research shows that at Inamgaon,
pit-dwelling culture still exist there. However, though Pit-dwelling of semi-
arid Inamgaon has been discovered, the pit dwelling of Wari-Bateshwar
arise a great question. In present context, a question arises that in a rain
prone region how a pit-dwelling is feasible? Due to heavy rainfall, the
exuded water will fill the pit. It is known from archaeological literature that
circa 1500 BCE or prior to 1000 BCE, the weather of Indian subcontinent
was dry.
• From Wari-Bateshwar region, several neolithic tools have been discovered,
though all the tools are chance finds. However, no prehistoric settlement
has yet been identified. The discovery of prehistoric tools indicates the
prehistoric settlement in the region which is waiting to be explored.
18 meter long & 5 meter
width country’s oldest
metal road has been
discovered in the area.
Stone made pre-historic tools
Many metallic tools made
by bronze, copper, iron,
knobbed ware, silver were
also found in this area.
Buddhist-Shiva
offering bronze
plate
Earliest
painted ware
In Bateshwar a bronze made horse
of 7.6cm long & 4cm height has
been found.
Earthen coin
hoard
 Vikrampur/Vikramapura
• Vikramapura the political and cultural centre of ancient Bengal survives only in
the name of an area in the Munshiganj district of Bangladesh. The remains of the
city of Vikramapura, the capital of the ancient kingdoms of southeastern Bengal, are
lost and its location can only be guessed on the basis of available data.
• The name of Vikramapura survived in the name of a pargana in the Mughal period.
It appears in Todarmal's settlement in the 16th century yielding revenue of Rs
83,376. By 1728 the revenue had increased, and to decrease again in 1763 partly due
to creation of two new parganas, Rajnagar and Baikunthapur, out of it and partly due
to the destructive activity of the Padma. Today the name does not exist even
officially; but the inhabitants of a vast tract of land in the Munshiganj district still
feel pride in saying that they belong to Vikramapura, which, of course, emanates
from the past glory of the area.
• In the ancient period Vikramapura was undoubtedly the most important
political centre in the Vanga janapada. Indeed, it was the capital city of
the Chandra, Varman and Sena rulers, from the beginning of the 10th
century CE to the beginning of the 13th century CE. Vikramapura
appears for the first time in the copperplates of Srichandra as a royal
camp of victory or capital situated at Vikramapura and it held that position
through the rule of the subsequent Varman and Sena dynasties.
• Even during the rule of the Senas, who held sway over practically the
whole of Bengal, Vikramapura continued to be their capital, and
Laksmanasena came to this place after his defeat at Nadia at the hands of
the Muslim invader Bakhtiyar Khalji, where his two sons, Vishvarupasena
and Keshavasena ruled for a short period.
• Vikramapura's eminence continued till the early 1280s, when
Danujamadhava Dasharathadeva or Danuj Rai of Ziauddin Barani
transferred his capital to nearby Suvarnagrama (Sonargaon). From then
onwards, throughout the Sultanate period, Vikramapura remained in
oblivion, only to make a comeback as the name of a pargana in the
Mughal revenue roll.
• The site of the city of Vikramapura has been identified with the Rampal
area not far from the modern town of Munshiganj. It has been estimated
on the basis of the archaeological exploration of the area that the ancient
capital covered about 15 square miles, on which are situated some 17 or
18 villages. A large number of tanks, mostly dating from ancient period,
can be seen around Rampal, but hardly any building of that period
except the derelict ruins of temples. Dhipur and Sonarang are the two
important temple sites.
• The whole area yielded highly valuable antiquities: sculptures of
exquisite quality (both Hindu and Buddhist), objects of precious metals.
A silver Visnu image from this area is now preserved in the Indian
Museum. An eleventh century divine nymph (surasundari) hewn out of a
long wooden pillar and forming a part of a column is considered to be a
unique find in the whole subcontinent. Two other wooden pillars with
sculptural decorations were found from the famous Rampal Dighi.
Though the present landscape around Rampal would not give any
indication of the existence of a metropolis in the distant past, the find of
the antiquities and the legends around speak of the past glory of the
ancient city. The river system around might have also contributed to the
extinction of the once prosperous city. However, the medieval ruins of a
mosque and tomb of Baba Adam Shahid at Rampal now stand as the only
visible historical monuments in the area.
• Whether the name of the village Rampal has any connection with the
famous Pala king of that name is difficult to ascertain. It is known from
epigraphical records that the Varman king Bhojavarman or Samalavarman
propitiated the friendship of the Pala king Ramapala by offering him
elephants and chariots. It may be that Ramapala visited Vikramapura and
the area near the palace where he was ceremoniously received was
developed and named after him. It is unlikely that Ramapala had
Vikramapura area under his control.
• There is a local tradition that the area was named Rampal after a local
merchant. Ramananda Pal, popularly called Ramapala, was the grocer to the
royal family during Vallalasena's rule, and he amassed wealth, settled down
in the neighbourhood of the royal palace and came to be recognised as a
respectable person. When Vallalasena dug his dighi, it stretched up to
Ramapala's house. A local proverb goes like this: Vallal katay dighi, name
Rampal (the tank was excavated by Vallal, but it got the name of Rampal).