Early settlement discovered in Sundarbans, revealing rich civilisation

Traces that indicate settlement dating back to around 1,500 years ago, have been discovered in five places of the Sundarbans. 

Various utensils and tools used by the then people have been found in different places of the world's largest mangrove forest.

This archaeological discovery was made through personal and dedicated search of a researcher named Isme Azam.

He said these installations, earlier covered by forest land, emerged into the open following soil erosion. "This was probably a seaport of ancient times, ruined over the ages," the amateur archaeologist told Prothom Alo.

According to the findings, the largest structures were located around 83 kilometres away from Shyamnagar of Satkhira, along the coast of the Bay of Bengal, in Khejurdana, Arpangashia and Shekhertek.

More structures were discovered along the bank of the river Kholpatua in the Satkhira part of the Sundarbans and in Katka, in the Khulna part of the forest.

Explorers say as the river erodes the banks, the soil has washed away, gradually revealing these structures.

Previously in 1998, the surveys of archeology department and the archeological surveys of the forest department, Khulna University and three universities of Malaysia also pointed to evidence of certain structures.

Professor Humayun Akhter of Dhaka University’s geology department and professor Badrul Islam of Rajshahi University’s geology and mining department have been researching on the geological formation of the Sundarbans and the extinct salt industry. Their research has also brought to light quite a few old structures and items.

However, exact data concerning the time and usage of the items could not be determined in these research works. There was no mention of human settlement either.

A research team from Germany and the US, involved in research concerning the Sundarbans’ geological changes and rise of the sea level, estimate that about 1,000 years ago there had been a large industrial town and trading centre in there, centred on the salt industry. They find evidence of a port there too.

How old?

Prothom Alo’s investigation into the ancient structures found in the Sundarbans were joined by professor Sufi Mostafizur Rahman of Jahangirnagar University’s archeology department, renowned for his Wari-Bateswhar discoveries, and assistant professor of archeology at Comilla University, Mohammad Sohrabuddin.

They assume that these sites are between 1000 to 1200 years old. Examining the sites and their formation, Sufi Mostafizur Rahman said that the shape and size of the bricks indicate these date back to the time of the Pala dynasty. That would mean the structures are around 1,000 to 1200 years old. Though these structures were built for trade and industry, he guesses, there were permanent human settlements there as well.

Isme Azam has been visiting remote areas of the Sundarbans for around seven years now, working on the census and protection of tigers. While working in the forest, he stumbled across these ruins and ancient utensils and tools. Later, when the upper layer of the area along the Sundarbans was washed away, he saw these structures emerge. With the avid interest of an archeologist, he conserved these items and began collecting data and evidence of these sites.

The Indian side of the Sundarbans begins after Shyamnagar of Satkhira. In January, this correspondent saw ancient structures of the Indian Sundarbans on the Sagar island, Mousuni island and Hamilton island. Indian archeologists think that these will be between 1000 to 2500 years old.

Indian historians and researchers are of the opinion that the Gangaridai kingdom of the Bengal region spread up till the Sundarbans in the pre-Christian era. They feel that the Satkhina zone was the part and trading hub of the kingdom.

Indian archeological researcher and senior fellow at India’s Centre for Archeological Studies and Training (East India), Sharmi Chakrabarty, talked to Prothom Alo on the matter. After examining the data and pictures of these sites and items from the Bangladesh side of the Sundarbans, Chakraborty found these had similarity with those on the Indian side and estimated the square installations and wharf-like areas probably dated back to 600 AD to 700 AD. The other archeological findings and items were probably of mediaeval times. But overall, human settlement in the Sundarbans is at least 1500 years old.

Another professor of Jahangirnagar University’s archeology department Sagar Sen, a researcher on archeological findings in Bangladesh’s rivers, said that these settlements and items would probably date back of around 1000 to 1200 years ago. He feels human settlements grew up there over time due to trade and salt production. There were destroyed time and again by natural calamities and attacks by outsiders, but were built up again.

Signs of settlement deep in the forest

Early in the morning on 23 January, a seven-member team, at the initiative of Prothom Alo, started off on an investigative journey early to the Sundarbans. Their speedboat headed out for Shyamnagar, Satkhira, a little before sunrise. The structures were 83 km away, and the going was not easy. Before they could land, the speedboat got stuck midway. They saw in the distance, fallen along the edge of the forest, a pile of bricks.

There is no settlement in this remote area of the forest. Amateur archeologist Isme Azam pointed out where the boat should dock and everyone alighted. There were bricks underfoot. They followed this for around 200 metres and finally reached the pile of bricks.

Managing to calm the excitement which had bubbled up, Sufi Mostafiz and Sohrabuddin began looking into the enigma behind these bricks. The covering layer of broken bricks and tree roots were removed.

Below all of these an amazing sight was revealed of a square structure, apparently the roof of a room.

Sohrab and Isme Azam took the measurements of the bricks. Sufi Mostafiz picked up a brick and examined its size and composition. He said that such bricks, 32 inches by 28 inches in size, were used during the Pala empire.

That would mean the structure was at least 1000 to 1200 years old. “The construction style of the structure indicates that there was permanent human settlement here,” he said.

There were identical structures after every 50 to 80 metres. The way was slippery and the team proceeded along the precarious path with difficulty.  Removal of bricks revealed similar installations.

Isme Azam said there was round four or five more such structures there. The areas would be around 5 sq km. From his seven years of experience working in the area, he said this had all been forest land but over the past five or six years the soil had been eroded and these installations emerged into the open. Another brick structure had emerged by the river Kholpotua. He thinks this was probably a seaport of ancient times, ruined over the ages.

It took about half an hour to reach that port-like structure by speedboat. The composition of the bricks here too prompted Sufi Mostafiz to measure the age of the structure as 1000 to 1200 years old. From his research experience he pointed out that there were very specific differences between the bricks of the Pala, Sultani and Mughal eras. The Pala era bricks were large slabs. As time went by, the size of the bricks grew smaller and narrower. The use of Pala era bricks gradually died out.

Is it possible to determine that an area is thousand years old simply based on the opinion of archeologists?

Sohrabuddin replied to this question, saying he had been involved with Germany’s Bremen University in researching the geological formation and composition of the Sundarbans. He said they had discovered quite a number of furnaces and utensils for salt production in Sundarbans’ Katka. The German team’s carbon and temperature tests specified the age of these.

The team leader of the Bangladesh part of this research was Dhaka University’s archeological department’s professor Humayun Akhter. His research revealed that three of the salt factories at Katka were 250 to 300 years old, two were 600 years old and one was a thousand years old.

These researchers found a hillock, Tiger Hill, at Katka where they discovered a water strainer and drains for the emission of waste water. They feel this was quite a technologically developed salt factory. Around 250 to 1000 years ago, salt produced here was exported to East Asia and Europe.

Humayun Akhter elaborated, “We feel that there probably was a vast salt factory where the Sundarbans now stands. At least 1,000 years ago this salt was exported from some nearby port. The ruins of this ancient port are probably around Khejurdana and adjacent areas.”

Rajshahi University’s geology and mining department’s professor Badrul Islam told Prothom Alo, high grade salt used to be produced along an expansive areas spreading from Patuakhali’s Kuakata to the Sundarbans. With the sea receding, the land depressing and the vagaries of time, this could have gradually been destroyed. Over the centuries, layers of silt covered it and the Sundarbans emerged.

Sufi Mostafizur Rahman sees this archeological discovery as a new chapter in the history of Bangladesh. He said, “If more detailed research is carried out on those structures, we may find some startling revelations concerning the Sundarbans and the history of that area.”

He went on to say, “Western history regards Bengal a symbol of a rich civilisation from pre-Christian times. The discovery of salt production, ancient settlements along the coast will establish this further.”

*This report, originally published in Prothom Alo print edition, has been rewritten in English by Ayesha Kabir