Defining the urban organization of Mahasthangarh, Bangladesh
If the status of Mahasthangarh as an urban centre during the Mauryan period cannot be doubted, thanks to the inscription in brahmi scripture and prakrit language dated to the 3rd c. B.C.E., the precise internal organization (location of the administrative and religious buildings, of the private habitations, of the market places, etc.) remains unclear. This assessment is also valid for the successive chronological periods. We do have monuments: some religious (as Bairaghi Bhita or Govinda Bhita or even the sultanate 15-domed mosque) and some of which the function would need more investigations (like Kodar Pathar or Parasuram Palace). However, we still do not have, for the citadel, a precise view of the urban plan and its evolution through time.
Plan of Mahasthangarh ©MCAFBM
For those reasons, the joint Bangladeshi-French archaeological mission of Mahasthangarh tried to set up a methodology to address this vast research issue.We started first in 2022 by doing a complete UAS survey of the citadel. This allowed the production of accurate spatial datasets such as a Digital Surface Model and a general orthomosaic of the site using photogrammetry. Antoine Darchambeau (EVEHA International) in collaboration with agents of the Department of Archaeology of Bangladesh and workers/villagers of Mahasthangarh conducted this task. As well as modelling the topography of the citadel, these new data will serve as basemaps of the Geographical Information System of the site.

The team staking out GNSS ground control points before the UAS survey ©MCAFBM

Orthomosaic and Digital Surface Model (DSM), SEB area, by Antoine Darchambeau ©MCAFBM
Still in 2022, we decided to start our exploration of the western part of the citadel following a North-South axis. Indeed, if the eastern side has yielded many archaeological remains, the landscape of the western one is now occupied either by small hamlets or by agricultural fields that probably flattened the ancient topography. In consequence, very few extant old remains are visible in the landscape. However, this does not mean that this part of the fortress was empty during ancient times. In order to test our hypothesis, we opened three 2 x 2 m test pits concentrated in the Northwestern part of the site (North West Quadrant, NWQ). For this, an agreement was made with the inhabitants and owners of agricultural fields allowing us to excavate until the first layer of archaeological remains. Once this layer reached, all archaeological data were recorded and the test pits were then backfilled. This survey methodology is called an ‘archaeological diagnostic’ in France. Its purpose is to establish whether an area contains archaeological remains, identify their nature, date them and assess whether they are of scientific or historical interest. The results of the first attempt were promising as we discovered an ancient wall in one of the test-pit at only 15 cm from the surface! We hope to be able to continue investigating this area during the next field campaigns.
Brick wall found during the excavations of NWQ2022 in trench 3 excavated by Alban François and Hasanat Bin Islam ©MCAFBM
OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
colinelefrancq (April 22, 2025). Defining the urban organization of Mahasthangarh, Bangladesh. DHARMA project ERC n° 809994. Retrieved May 20, 2026 from https://doi.org/10.58079/13s7d


