Wari-Bateshwar
Wari-Boteshwar · Uari-Bateshwar
Chalcolithic → Iron Age 500 BCE–300 CE·Iron Age Gangetic (NBPW)·🇧🇩 Dhaka Division, Narsingdi District, Belabo Upazila, twin villages 70 km NE of Dhaka on Old Brahmaputra floodplain, Bangladesh
About
About Wari-Bateshwar
Wari-Bateshwar — twin-village Early Historic port-city (Chalcolithic levels, Iron Age 500 BCE–300 CE) 70 km NE Dhaka, discovered 1933 Hanif Pathan, excavated 2000–10 Rahman. Ptolemy's Sounagoura candidate. 5.8 km earthen fortification, citadel with punch-marked coins, Rouletted Ware, bead workshops, iron smelting.
Why it mattersEarliest fortified urbanism in Bangladesh — Iron Age port
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Ptolemy Sounagoura equation?
Theories
- 01Old Brahmaputra as Roman trade artery
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.500 BCE Iron Age urban
- Period
- Chalcolithic → Iron Age 500 BCE–300 CE
- Culture
- Iron Age Gangetic (NBPW)
- Builders
- Iron Age Gangetic urbanists
- Purpose
- River port-fort controlling Old Brahmaputra trade
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.1800 BCE
Chalcolithic knobbed ware
c.500 BCE
Iron Age fort and coins
2000–2010
Rahman excavations
On the ground
Structures & features
24.0931° N · 90.8256° E · 12 m · 2 mapped features
Wari Citadel Mound
citadelRaised citadel with NBPW and coins
24.0941° N · 90.8248° EBateshwar Bead Workshop and Rampart
workshopBead workshop and rampart segment east
24.0916° N · 90.8267° E
Gallery