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1300-year-old antiques discovered in Cumilla


Published : 23 Apr 2022 09:04 PM | Updated : 23 Apr 2022 09:04 PM

Ancient antiquities of the 7th and 9th centuries have been found in a mound known as Monter Mura at Italla village in Panchthubi area of Amratali union bordering India in Cumilla Sadar upazila. The mound, which has been in a state of despair for a long time, has suddenly been dug up. As a result of this excavation, the border Panchthubi area has become known as a new archeological site all over the country. According to the locals, if new antiquities are discovered after excavations in these places, the number of visitors from home and abroad will increase.

The Panchthubi area is located on the north bank of the river Gomti in the Adarsha Sadar upazila of Comilla. According to local sources, there was a temple on the mound known as Mantu Mura in the village of Italla in Panchthubir. The temple existed here till the last 80s after independence. It was surrounded by brick rubble. 

Momin Mia, 75, of Italla village, said locals used to collect bricks from the rubble of the abandoned Mantu Mura for personal use. Later, after the establishment of Pakistan, the matter came to the notice of the administration and the ban on brick extraction was imposed.

He added that the temple was in the 90s of the last century. Since then, the mound has been abandoned for more than 30 years, and local youths have used it as a field for other sports, including football. 

According to a responsible local source, in 2019 Dr Ataur Rahman, Regional Director of Chittagong-Sylhet Division, along with the then Custodian Comilla Mainamati Museum and Dr Ahmed Abdullah, now Assistant Director of the Department of Archeology of Bangladesh visited Mantu Murar Mountain in Italla. The matter was reported to the higher authorities after the preliminary investigation confirmed the location of the site. 

Meanwhile, local officials from the Archaeological Department recently visited the mound earlier this month. Ripon Mia, who was involved in the excavation work, said that the excavation work started from April 6 by marking six boundaries there. At present excavation work is going on in 5 square area measuring 6 feet by 6 feet. Meanwhile, on April 8, the 3rd day of excavation, a 14-foot-long, 11-and-a-half-foot-wide and three-inch-thick brick was recovered from an excavated site here. 

Archaeologists estimate that the bricks date back to the 8th-9th century, as they are in similarity with the artefacts discovered in the Shalban area of Lalmai-Mainamati in Comilla. Meanwhile, Director General of the Department of Archeology Ratan Chandra Pandit visited the excavation site. Meanwhile, AKM Saifur Rahman, Regional Director, Comilla, Chittagong-Sylhet Division, said that for the last half a century, archaeologists have been mentioning the archeological resources of Panchthubi area in various reports. Arriving from the Archeology Department, he was sure about the archeological site here. Considering the importance of this time it was decided to dig. 

He said that the artefacts discovered so far in the Lalmai-Mainamati Kotbari area are similar to the architectural style of construction and can be said to be contemporary with the 10th-11th century archeological finds in Lalmai-Mainamati. However, an archaeologist, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the archeological finds in the village are believed to be of the 10th-11th centuries, as the bricks found here are similar to those recovered from the Lalmai-Mainamati civilization. 

Meanwhile, the locals are also very happy with the news of the discovery of antiquities in this remote border town. They said that as a result of this excavation, the village of Italla will now become known all over the country.  In addition, the excavation work will increase the importance of the village of Italla, the possibility of discovering many historical monuments. The local people are dreaming of developing the infrastructure of this area.