Brief
Locally this site is known as “Rupban Mura”. After excavation, the sign of a shrine, a monastery and an octagonal votive stupa were found. Among the antiquities, one Gupta imitation gold coin, 04 coins of debased metal, 3 silver coins and a bulky sand stone, Buddha image of post gupta period are mention worthy. On the basis of all the evidences found here, the original monastery and shrine may be dated prior to the 8th Century A.D.
Rupban Mura an important archaeological site of Mainamati lying on a hillock just between the modern BARD and BDR establishments in the Kotbari area on the south of the Comilla-Kalirbazar road. Excavations have revealed here the remains of a remarkable semi-cruciform shrine of medium size (28.2m east – west, 28m north – south), together with a number of subsidiary structures, including an octagonal stupa and another one on a square base. A boundary wall within the oblong stupa courtyard encloses all these. Its regular entrance is on the east, facing the monastery entrance. Deep diggings have revealed three main periods of building and repairs and rebuilding, the earliest corresponding to c.6th-7th centuries AD. Very few remains of the latest period (10th-11th century AD) survive now in this very heavily disturbed site.
The Cruciform Shrine Originally built as a solid stupa on a square base, it was subsequently converted into a semi-cruciform shrine in the second period (8th century AD). It has a peculiarity not noticed elsewhere. Instead of a single chapel built in each of the long arm of the cross, a group of three long narrow chapels was built in the eastern (front) side of the shrine.
In the middle chapel the colossal stone Buddha, now exhibited in Mainamati Museum, was discovered. The same peculiarity is noticed in the adjacent Itakhola Mura grand stupa, also on the eastern side facing the entrance. Fragments of bronze images found in other chapels suggest installation of such images there.
The Monastery The small 34.1m square monastery of the site was built separately, 31m.The South-east of the cruciform stupa. It has a prominent gateway complex (12.5m x 6.9m) projecting outwards in the middle of the northern wing. Built in the usual square plan, it originally had a total of 24 cells in four wings, subsequently reduced to 18 in the second period. The southern wing, occupying an area of 11.7m, was abandoned, due certainly too irreparable damages, and a row of new cells was built in its front, thus making the shape of the monastery oblong (34.1m x 24.8m). Corbelled niches and brick-built bedsteads can be noticed in the 2nd period cells. A broad corbelled drain was built in the courtyard to drain out rainwater. Significant discoveries from the site include, besides the colossal stone Buddha, five debased gold coins of Balabhatta, the Khadga ruler.
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[name] => Govinda Vita at Mahasthangarh
[post_id] => 6557
[post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/places/govinda-vita-at-mahasthangarh/
[thumb_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Govinda-Vita2-300x240.jpg
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Govinda Vita at Mahasthangarh is another archaeological spot from the great Mahasthangarh of Bogra. This is also at Shibganj, and just opposite of the Mahastangarh Museum. This one is also close at Sunday, and open for other days from 9:00 to 5:00. During summer time, the closing time extends for one hour.
This is situated just beside the famous river Korotoa of Bogra. Once upon a time it was a giant river, but day by day it’s becoming so narrow that you may feel it’s a canal.
From the excavation, some important antiquities discovered at Govinda Bhita that includes cast copper coins, silver coins, NBP wares, terracotta female figurines with sunga affinities, terracotta seal bearing Brahmi script and semi-precious stone beads.
[This spot needs more detail. If you have more information and photos, please be advised to add in our website. Your name will be published as a Content Contributor]
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[name] => Alexander Castle
[post_id] => 21791
[post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/places/alexander-castle/
[thumb_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/P_20151013_170743_1_p-300x169.jpg
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Alexander Castle is one of the most amazing and renowned structure in Mymensingh District. It was built by Maharaja Suryo Kanta Acharya Chowdhury(মহারাজ সুর্যকান্ত আচার্য চৌধুরী) in 1879 in the memory of the 1st zilla magistrate of Mymensingh Mr. N .S Alexander at the time of Jubili festival. It covers an area of 27.155 acres.
It is a nice small archaic building having two Greek statue at both sides of the front gate. Though the arms of those statues are currently broken, but still those looks great. The whole building is placed over a high plinth, probably to avoid the flood from the nearness river.
It cost 45000 taka at that time. Alexander Castle is a two storied building made by metals and woods in a high concrete base. This building was used as a rest house for the guests of Maharaja Maharaja Soshi Kanta Acharya Chowdhury. Many great personalities of the world stayed at this castle when visiting Mymensingh city. Nobel Laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore arrived in Mymensingh around the midday of 15 February 1926. He stayed in the Alexander Castle as a guest for 4days. Mahatma Gandhi also stayed in this castle in 1926.
Lord carzon, Chittaranjan Das, Nawab Sir Salimullah, Kamal Pasha also visited Alexander Castle. This house was decorated by royal furnitures and items at that time. There is a big field in front of this house. You can see two fascinating silver statue which makes the place more beautiful. There is also a big garden and a pond still remains behind the castle. It is said that Maharaja used to keep big cats in his garden so he surrounded the garden with big still cages.At present this house is being used as library of teachers training college(male) in Mymensingh.
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[name] => Tagore Lodge
[post_id] => 22089
[post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/places/tagore-lodge/
[thumb_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/P_20151017_112341_1_p-300x169.jpg
[post_content] => In 1895, Rabindranath Tagore came to Kushtia main town to set up his business. At that time, common Hindu families tend to set up family businesses among the partnership of family members. Tagore patronized his family business and established a private company named "Tagore and Company". At that time
Millpara was the industrial and commercial area to run businesses. So he set up this duplex building as the office of his business named as Tagore Lodge. This building was elongated to the east-west. The main gateway is in the north. Iron made spiral staircase is in the west. At the beginning the business growth was significant. But later he failed to make revenue and gave up.
Now this building has renovated and newly painted by both the governments of Bangladesh and India. A metal made statue of Ravindranath Tagore has been placed there. But the building opens occasionally, when people comes here with reference or guest from government official invitation can visit this lodge.
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[name] => Panam Nagar
[post_id] => 11238
[post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/places/panam-nagar/
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Panam Nagar (পানাম নগর), ancient Painam, a locality now in Sonargaon upazila of Narayanganj district. It is about 2.5 kilometre to the north of Dhaka-Chittagong highway at Mograpara point. It is said to have been the site of Hindu capital city of Sonargaon emerging in the seventh decade of the thirteenth century. The Panam area formed part of the Muslim metropolis developed on the south of the old city, and perhaps constituted the place of residence of the early Muslim governors'. After the Mughal conquest of Sonargaon (1611) the Panam area was connected with the ruling metropolis by construction of highways and bridges. Panam still possesses three brick bridges belonging to the Mughal period: Panam Bridge, Dalalpur Bridge and Panamnagar Bridge.
The existence of these bridges, and the canals enclosing the site on three sides is indicative of its being a suburban area of the medieval city. The pucca road which leads from the Mograpara crossing on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway in the direction of Panam extending up to the Neel-Kuthi looks like a dividing line between medieval Sonargaon and the present Panamnagar, the only surviving relics of the Panam area. The Panam township stands on the east of this road opposite Aminpur, and a one-arched humped bridge leads from the same road over a narrow canal to the main street of Panamnagar.
In all probability the present Panamnagar grew as a by-product of the commercial activities of the english east india company and of the Permanent Settlement. The East India Company established their factory in Panam for the purchase of muslin and other cotton fabrics. The Company, for the purchase of muslin, used to distribute annually to the weavers from their factory in Panam as much as a lakh of rupees as dadni (dadni system advance), and it is estimated that there were then 1400 families of Hindu and Muslim weavers in and around Panam.
Sonargaon developed into a center of trade in cotton fabrics, chiefly English piece goods, during the colonial period, and thereby grew the new township of Panamnagar. A group of Hindu talukdars, who came into being from among the traders in the nineteenth century, chose this site for their residence. The existing brick buildings of Panamnagar, obviously the residence of the Hindu merchant-talukdars, can be dated back to early nineteenth, and the later ones to late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Panamnagar which developed in the nineteenth century, continued to flourish till the end of the Second World War.
Panamnagar, a unique township, stretched in a single street 5 meter wide on the average and 600 meter in length. All the buildings have the character of urban street front houses and are lined up on either side of this street which ends up at the Panam bazar. Fifty-two houses exist in dilapidated and disused condition having 31 in the north side of the street and 21 on the south. Panamnagar appears to be well protected by artificial canals all around. Two fairly wide canals run parallel to the street on its either side and joined by a narrow canal on the western side over which is the entrance bridge (Panamnagar Bridge). On the eastern side, the canal on the south swerves rightward and goes eastward crossing the north-south road that passes through the Panam bazar. The northern canal, the Pankhiraj Khal, runs eastward to meet the Meghna-Menikhali stream.
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