Exciting discoveries during the last excavation campaigns at Mahasthangarh (Bangladesh) in 2022 and 2025
The excavation programme at SEB (South-East of Bairaghi Bhita temples) began in 2014 under the leadership of Vincent Lefèvre (Sorbonne University) and Coline Lefrancq (CNRS) for the French side and Naheed Sultana (Department of Archaeology-DoA) for the Bangladeshi side. This sector is circumscribed, to the north, by the Bairaghi Bhita temples and to the west, by the first excavations of the joint mission on a portion of the Eastern Rampart. Through the characterization of the type of occupation, this programme aims to study the axes of circulation, firstly between these two areas, one of which dedicated to a religious purpose and the other to a more secular activity, and then at the level of the site itself. This sector has been more precisely delineated due to the presence of a well-platform, the precise function of which remains enigmatic, and a small temple to the west. Although this area was the subject of random and partial excavations in the late 1920s by K.N. Dikshit, no plans of the structures or information on the material culture are available. All these factors justify the launching and continuation of the SEB programme.
Due to the pandemic and political upheaval in Bangladesh in recent years, fieldwork has been more irregular with excavations carried out in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2025, and missions to study the material in 2018, 2021 and 2023. Another post on this blog presented the results of the 2019 campaign (see: https://dharma.hypotheses.org/2543).
Excavations from 2014 to 2019 revealed numerous walls built with baked bricks and floors demarcating rooms, as well as terracotta ring wells. In 2022 and 2025, the French-Bangladeshi team continued to excavate the area, extending it to the north in 2022 (team comprising Razia Sultana-DoA, Coline Lefrancq-CNRS, Hasanat Bin Islam-DoA and Alban François-Musée Guimet) and to the west, between the well-platform and the small temple, in 2025 (team comprising Antoine Darchambeau-EVEHA International, Hafizur Rahman-DoA, Alexandre Houdas-Postdoc ArScAn UMR 7041, Habibur Rahman-DoA and Coline Lefrancq-CNRS). The 2022 excavations confirmed the extent of the building to the north and the chronostratigraphic sequence of the sector.

Top: excavations SEB2022, wall and floor in trench/square AE35; Below: excavations SEB2022 square AE35 with the archaeological team ©MCAFBM
However, the results of the 2025 excavations are more nuanced. It seems that we found an ancient pond/tank to the east of the small temple. It is difficult to define its boundaries but remains identified as ‘drains’ or ‘embankments’ could indicate its limits. The area was much disturbed by the 1920’s excavations and by late occupation, probably still dating from the first half of the 20th century. Yet, still during the 2025 campaign, we reached the geological layer in a trench that we had begun excavating in 2022 and which is located against the southern face of the well-platform.
View of the excavations SEB2025 ©MCAFBM
Excavations SEB2025, the ancient pond with drain?, trench/square AB-AC42 ©MCAFBM
Excavations SEB2025, view of the trench to the south of the big platform-well ©MCAFBM
Analysis of the samples by radiocarbon dating, analysis of the stratigraphy and the phasing of the walls and other constructions (work in progress) will provide us with a complete chronostratigraphy for the SEB sector, from the barind terrace considered to be the ground ‘devoid of any trace of human occupation’ to the 20th century levels. During the excavations, we had the pleasure to have many visitors among whom the French Ambassador of France in Bangladesh, Madam Masdupuy and her team, and the Independent TV who filmed the 2025 excavations. Their report gives you a glimpse of our discoveries: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FynYKqRUcS0
Part of the team of SEB2025 with the Ambassador of France in Bangladesh, Mrs. Masdupuy ©Baptiste Lebret
As far as artefacts are concerned, we found coins, fragments of moulded ‘shunga’ type plates, nails, ceramic beads, hard rock beads, stone ring, and, above all, lots and lots of pottery! Thanks to our conservator, Charlotte Rérolle (Antepostquem), the important metal objects have been restored and preserved in the best possible conditions. As for the pottery and other types of objects, they are still being studied…Indeed, it does take a while to count and analyse thousands of potsherds!
Ring stone (left) and potsherds (right) found during the excavations of SEB2025 ©MCAFBM
Nail of SEB2025 excavations: before (top) and after (below) the work of the restorer Charlotte Rérolle ©MCAFBM
To set up the chronology of the excavation, absolute dating is essential and among the different techniques, the radiocarbon one is the most popular. At the request of the DoA, the joint mission organized in 2025 a specific workshop on this topic. We invited a specialist, a research engineer Jean-Pascal Dumoulin working at the LMC14 (Laboratory of Measurement of 14C in Paris Saclay), to train around 20-25 agents of the DoA during 3 days.
Opening ceremony of the 14C training: (from left to right) M. Jean-Pascal Dumoulin, Ms. Sabina Alam (Director General of DoA Bangladesh), M. Lefèvre ©MCAFBM
The participants to the 14C training in Paharpur ©MCAFBM
At the end of the field campaign in January-February 2025, the team reviewed the results of the excavations in the SEB sector at a working meeting at the Bangladesh DoA headquarters in Dhaka. Following this exchange, we decided to continue the adventure by exploring another part of the site within the city walls over the next few years [spoiler alert]… The western part is waiting for us!
OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
colinelefrancq (April 22, 2025). Exciting discoveries during the last excavation campaigns at Mahasthangarh (Bangladesh) in 2022 and 2025. DHARMA project ERC n° 809994. Retrieved June 6, 2026 from https://doi.org/10.58079/13s7b


