A five-day exhibition of artifacts found on the archeological excavation of the homestead of Khanjahan has begun in Bagerhat.
Khanjahan was the founder of the medieval city of Khalifatabad, now Bagerhat, which arose from the Sundarbans edge.
Deputy commissioner Md Azizur Rahman inaugurated the exhibition in Khanjahan’s homestead area in Sundarghona of Bagerhat Sadar upazila on Friday.
The exhibition has been organised by the Khulna and Barisal regional offices of the department of archeology and will remain open from morning to afternoon for visitors.
After excavating for about two months, the archaeological department found the antiquities and artifacts of various architectural structures and utensils used 600 years ago.
These artifacts include decorative bricks, walls of different periods, lime-made floors, roads, drainage, brick soling and pathways. Other items include terracotta pots, plates, bowls, saucers, and fragments of earthenware pitcher, oil lamps, engraved bricks, tiles and terracotta bowls.
Afroza Khan Mita, regional director of Khulna and Barisal division of the archeology department, said they have three visions through excavation — to know the nature of the excavated artifacts by researching, to determine the approximate age of the archeological finds and to publish a complete report through research.
Relics from Khanjahan’s homestead on display in Bagerhat
At the same time, she said, efforts are being made to renovate some parts of the excavated settlement and keep it open for visitors.
Bagerhat Sadar upazila nirbahi officer Mohammad Moshabberul Islam, custodian of the department of archeology in Bagerhat Md Zayed, and chairman of Satgumbuj union parishad Akhtaruzzaman Bachchu were present at the exhibition.
According to the archaeology department, UNESCO declared 17 sites, including the historic Shat Gambuj Mosque (60 dome mosque), as world heritage sites in 1985. The homestead of Khanjahan is also among them.
Excavation work started on December 31 last year at Khanjahan’s residence in Sundarghona village of Bagerhat Sadar upazila, about 400 metres away from the historic Shat Gombuj Mosque of Bagerhat. .
Since 2001, the archeology department has been continuously digging in this house of about 10 acres.
The city Khanjahan created was abandoned in later years.
Khanjahan built bridges, roads, mosques and other public buildings within an astonishingly short time. However, only two surviving monuments – his tomb and the Shat Gambuj Mosque –now bear the signs of his time.
During the early years of the 15th century, Khanjahan rallied the region’s local population to clear up dense forest areas to set up human settlements, converting them to Islam.
It is still not known how, but Khanjahan died in 1459 and was buried in a tomb that was built by him. He was 90 at his death.
Source: United News of Bangladesh