Historical site may turn into mango orchard

Statesman News Service

MALDA, March 7: The excavation, which began in 2004 at Balupur on the banks of river Kalindri in English Bazaar Block to understand the nature of human settlement and the link between culture and the alluvial environment in the last 1300 years, is about to finish, said officials of Visva Bharati.

“We can tentatively surmise that this site has a dominant rural base in the earlier levels which was succeeded by increasingly brick building and industrial activity in the later phases identified with more urban based culture”, Dr Seena Panja, reader of Archaeology department in Visva Bharati said.

The researchers have chronologically traced four broad cultural periods at the site. According to them, the earliest is a culture which could belong to seventh to eighth century AD from the pottery found in the earliest levels.

The second earliest is Pala-Sena period stretching from ninth to twelvth centuries AD based on the remains of typical pottery of this period , a broken seal fragment inscribed in ten and eleventh century script, animal bones, terracotta objects and traces of mud floors.

Scholars have found that the Sultanate period stretched from the 13th to 15th century AD on the basis of the pottery recovered there.

“We see the beginnings of brick building activity including the construction of a big brick floor with bricks from an earlier level. The presence of imported Chinese celadon pottery and beads of semi-precious stones indicates that the era was one of prosperity. This phase was succeeded by a bigger flood activity,” claimed Prof. Arun Nag and Dr Seena Panja.

According to them, the last medieval period in the time of Hossain Shah and Mughal periods stretching from 16th to 17th and 18th century have evidence of rammed floors, mud floors, brick walls , brick structures and human burials, which were hastily buried due to some unknown calamity.

“This phase also shows evidence of bead making, iron works, shell and bone works and other industrial activity. This was the time when probably the river Kalindri became more active in the north and the river Bhagirathi became a stagnant channel,” Dr Panja said.

“The site became a more important administrative centre which is shown by the construction of a moat in the northern part of the site and the presence of the large structures in that zone,” they claimed.

Addressing a press conference Prof. Arun Nag expressed his concern and said: “This historically important site is being destroyed by the locals. It will be destroyed within a few years. A group of villagers are converting lands into mango orchards. The site can be protected if the state archaeology department takes initiatives”.

“More detailed analysis of the findings including scientific tests within a year will give us a more comprehensive view of human settlements in this area during the last 1300 years”, the team said.