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History of Bengal

Finally, heritage tag for 2500-yr-old Chandraketugarh

by Ajanta Chakraborty, Times of India, Jan 18, 2012, 04.19AM IST

Exactly 105 years after it was first "discovered", Chandraketugarh is finally getting some attention. The Mamata Banerjee government has decided to turn Bengal's richest archaeological treasure trove into a heritage village.

The ruins dating back to 6th Century BC has been a pilferers' paradise for decades, and people all over the world have minted money smuggling the exquisite antiques out of the 'garh' (fortified city) tucked away in Berachampa village in North 24-Parganas, about 34 km from Kolkata. To know that, you have to simply check out some of the relics soaked in Bengal's rich yet unknown past at the Christie's or the Sotheby's websites.

Countdown begins

Is this the beginning of the end to the booming "trade"? Shuvaprasanna, chairman, West Bengal Heritage Commission, nodded. "We shall do everything to establish Chandraketugarh in its archaeological glory. We are also trying to make it a world heritage site," said the painter. The commission, in collaboration with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), has embarked upon a major excavation attempt within the next year to unearth the myth and mystery of the historical township. Harvard professor and commission member Sugato Bose said: "This archaeological site can transform our understanding of the ancient history of Bengal." Bose must return to Harvard shortly, but will be in Kolkata in February to formulate some important decisions on Chandraketugarh.

Locals overjoyed

"This is the best thing we have heard in a long time. I can't remember since when we have been demanding that the area be excavated and if required, the entire land be acquired," said local resident Asim Karmakar, who had formed a pressure group years ago so that the governments (both state and central) did something to stop the extensive looting of the relics. "The administration has been insensitive to conservation as well as to the crime related to Chandraketugarh," he said.

The heritage village will cover Berachampa to Haroa, including Singer Ati, Shanpukur, Hadipur, Jhikra, Ranakhola, Ghorapota, Dhanpota, Chuprijhara, Mathbari and Ghaziatala. The ASI might dig up Berachampa, Khana-Mihirer Dhipi, Ita Khola, Noongola and Hadipur all over again; these sites were excavated about half a century ago, but the job has been largely inadequate.

Heritage village, fort and temple

Calcutta University's Ashutosh Museum did unearth remains of a temple in 1956-57. Constructed during the times of the legendary Mihir and Khana, the temple is two miles from King Chandraketu's fort. "The temple and the fort comprised the prosperous urban settlement that flourished between 4th Century BC and 12th Century AD. It was a remarkable civilisation spanning at least six eras, starting from that of the pre-Mauryans and ending with the Pala period," say ASI records.

The temple, said to be built during the Pala era, is the most valuable archaeological find of the region. Almost nothing, however, is left of the polygonal structure connected to a square vestibule. The roof had collapsed long ago and all that remains are the walls and a flight of stairs. "The fort and the temple are immensely vulnerable to pilferage and decay. The heritage village complex will automatically protect the entire area. The excavation, on the other hand, will enhance Chandraketugarh's archaeological stature," said Amal Roy of the state archaeological department.

Museum and research

First things first. The heritage commission intends constructing a museum - like the one at Nalanda - in the middle of the 'garh', along with research facilities. Since there are currency like the gold coin belonging to Chandragupta-Kumaradevi, semi-precious stone beads, ivory and bone materials, terracotta plaques, figurines, pottery and wooden objects of remarkable sculpting that survived the test of time, Chandraketugarh has potential to be identified as the oldest early-history site in Bengal.

Courtesy: W.B. State Archeo. Museum

Have you heard of:

Chandraketugarh or Khana-Mihirer Dhipi?
There is a fascinating place near Kolkata (West Bengal, India) where a bustling town from the days of Emperor Asoka is buried under the present day ricefields and village cottages. If you go there, you won't see much at first. But look down on the ground you're walking on, and you'll see something unusual. The ground appears strewn with a variety of potsherds. In fact, whenever the ground of Chandraketugarh is dug to build a house or to dig a pond, a variety of elegant and sophisticated artifacts is routinely unearthed.

All available information points to a mature civilization centered around a busy port, which started flourishing in this area more than 2000 years ago. Indeed, it is thought to belong to the kingdom of a "mighty ruler" of whom Alexander the Great was familiar. Plutarch wrote about a powerful tribe called "Gangaridae" living near a prosperous port "Gange" in the Gangetic delta. From geographical description the Chandraketugarh area can be linked to this port.

The inhabitants of Chandraketugarh achieved spectacular artistic refinement and created artifacts of exquisite beauty. Influence of foreign art raises intriguing questions. The numerous materials collected from this site point to a rich cultural and social life. Why did it vanish without a trace? We embark upon a journey to learn more, especially through the terracotta art of Chandraketugarh.

Chandraketugarh

Take a look at the photo below. We see a cyclist happily riding on a country road, through, which seems like two unassuming mounds of the kind we see everywhere in India. But these are no simple mounds! Buried under these mounds are the fortified ramparts of an ancient community -- the fort of King Chandraketu. The cyclist is unknowingly passing through what used to be one of its main entrances. The mound on the right is now called the "burz", and probably used to be a sentry tower. Archeologists have excavated numerous items dating back to the 3rd Century BC (the Pre-Mauryan Era in India) from the bottom of these ramparts and the surrounding area.

I took the above photo at a place called Berachampa (the site of Chandraketugarh) about 38 km northeast of Kolkata (India). The person seen in the photo probably lives close by, and almost certainly doesn't know anything about the history of the place.

Unfortunately, we don't know a whole lot either. There is no written record of this civilization. More mysterious is the fact that it vanished leaving no social memory in the surrounding area other than some local mythologies. Yet, there is no doubt that the civilization reached a very high level of sophistication (not possible in a short span of time) evidenced by the enormous amount of artifacts it is still routinely generating.

Sounds interesting? Follow me through these pages and I will present you the fascinating facts and several photo albums of my journey to this place, click here.

Khana-Mihirer Dhipi (The Mound of Khana-Mihir)

Only a few kilometers from where I took the above photo, there are the ruins of a massive temple structure. Locally called the Khana-Mihirer Dhipi or the mound of Khana-Mihir, it has survived for almost a millenium in the form of another deserted mound. An excavation in the 1950s uncovered the structure (see the photos below).

No one knows for sure how or when the names of Khana (pronounced khauna) and Barahamihir came to be associated with it. Barahamihir was one of the nine jewels in the court the famous Indian emperor Vikramaditya (also known as Chandragupta-II). Khana was his wife (daughter-in-law, according to another opinion). The ruins are now conjectured to belong to a Vishnu temple from the Gupta period. Who built the temple? Did it simply decay because of neglect or was it destroyed? We don't know. However, the temple complex was likely inside the fortification that we see at Chandraketugarh. For more details and a journey to this place, please click here.