Thousand-year old Buddhist city discovered in Munshiganj’s Nateshwar

An estimated thousand-year-old Buddhist city has been discovered seven metres beneath the ground at Nateshwar in Munshiganj.

The Director of Archaeological Excavation and Research Project in Munshiganj’s Bikrampur, Nuh-ul-Alam Lenin, announced the discovery at a press conference at the site on Monday.

The excavation at the site in Tongibarhi Upazila was conducted for two months under a joint initiative of Bangladesh and China.

Research Director Prof Shah Sufi Mustafizur Rahman said they found two roads made of old bricks in ‘attractive architectural design’, a zigzag 2.75-metre wide wall and many other archaeological relics at the site.

Mustafizur Rahman, who also teaches archaeology at Jahangirnagar University, said the discovery of the relics was the evidence of the existence of a ‘rich civilisation’ in Bikrampur in the past.

Twenty Bangladeshi and four Chinese experts took part in the excavation.

Officials at the project said the excavation at the site would remain suspended from late this month to November.

Prime Minister’s Adviser Gowher Rizvi, Chinese Ambassador in Dhaka Ma Mingqiang, Professor at China’s Hunan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology Chai Huangbo, Munshiganj district Deputy Commissioner Md Saiful Hasan Badal and district Superintendent of Police Biplab Bijoy Talukder were present at the press conference.

Before the press meet, the guests and experts visited the site.