Ananna Showly

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Khoundkar Alamgir

Bangladesh National University

Qazi Aniqua Zahra

Texas A&M University

Qazi Mowla

Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology

Esha Karim

University of Dhaka, Bangladesh

Mohammad Mahmudul Hasan Khan

Comilla University

Mohammad Babar

Port City International University

Dr. sumaiya ahmed

Aliah University

Maliha N A R G I S Ahmed

Jahangirnagar University

Nurul Kabir

Rajibul Hasan

College of Tourism and Hotel Management

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Some Medieval Bridges of Bangladesh

by Ananna Showly and Ananna Zulfiqar Showly

Pratnatattva Journal of the Dept. of Archaeology Jahangirnagar University, Vol. 26, June 2020: 51-60, 2020

As a riverine country, bridges always play a very significant role in transport system of Banglad... more As a riverine country, bridges always play a very significant role in transport system of Bangladesh from the Ancient Period. Medieval bridges of Bangladesh are remarkable achievements of design and engineering, and are proof of the great importance of road transportation in this period. Many bridges were constructed during both the Sultani and Mughal Periods. The Mughal Subahdars realized the urgency of uniting the river routes of the whole Bengal and constructed a series of culverts and bridges throughout the country. There are some references of bridges in inscriptions also. However, a large number of these bridges have disappeared, in ruins, in some cases, preserved or repaired by giving a modern look. This paper documented some of the Medieval bridges of Bangladesh. In the wake of Mughal conquest of Bengal in 1576 the whole country, especially the southeastern Bengal, was a flame with uprisings and a stiff resistance struggle was spearheading by the freshly ousted Afghan warlords in alliance with equally refractory Bara-Bhuiyans. The pacification effort of the Mughals, therefore, did not necessarily coincide with the conquest of the province. The unsettled political condition of the country and the constant and repeated clashes between the belligerent armies largely destroyed in their blazing tails, whatever overland communication system existed in the country at that time. The immediate task of Islam Khan, therefore, was to establish a network of both water routes and overland road communication for the speedy movement of his armies and river flotilla. The contemporary Baharistan refers to many such activities of Islam Khan, the Mughal governor of Bengal (1608-1613 AD) under the Emperor Jahangir. The vestiges of a few of these and those built later by succeeding Subadars are still precariously surviving the ravages of time. The Mughal Subadars readily realized the urgency of constructing a series of culverts and bridges throughout the country, largely enmeshed by a bewildering network of watercourses traversing the low flood plain. Here some bridges belonging to the Sultanate, Mughal and Late Mughal Period are described. A. Bridges of Sultanate Period Stone is not available in Bangladesh. Hence, here monuments and bridges were mainly built of bricks, which are not very much durable in the soil of Bangladesh where too much rain fall and rank vegetation occur. Almost all the bridges built in the Sultanate Period have either been damaged or become extinct. However the ruins of a few bridges of the Sultanate Period survive in the suburb of Gaur in Nawabganj district and at Ghoraghat Fort and Dhorail in Dinajpur district. 1. Bridges of Gaur The ruins of three bridges are marked in the southern Suburban areas of the Gaur citadel (Ahmed 1997: 41-49). These three bridges have been noticed and described by Sultan Ahmed, Professor of Islamic History and Culture, University of Rajshahi. Of the three bridges, two are single-arched; measuring five meters (5m) long by 1.2 meters broad; seven meters (7m) long by two meters (2m) broad. These two bridges are small and probably served the purpose of culverts erected on ancient roads over nalas or creeks. The rest one has almost completely been damaged except the traces of two arms on either side (Ahmed 1997: 41-49). This was probably a three-arched bridge constructed over a canal that starts from beel Bhatia and passes through villages Daulatbari and Mirjapur; finally falls into the Pagla River at the southwest corner of Gaur citadel. These three bridges do not contain any Inscription and hence it is difficult to assign them to any definite date. However they probably belonged to the Sultanate Period.

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Pratnatattva A Review on the Study of Various Salts Influencing Decay of Historical Buildings of Panam Nagar, Sonargaon, Bangladesh

'Pratnatattva', Journal of Dept. of Archaeology, Jahangirnagar University,Silver Jubilee Vol, 2019

Panam Nagar is a small township built by 19 th century wealthy merchants, situated at Narayanganj... more Panam Nagar is a small township built by 19 th century wealthy merchants, situated at Narayanganj, Bangladesh. The main attraction of this site is 52 buildings displaying a combination of local, Mughal and Colonial techniques. The present study is aimed to review all the available literatures on the archaeological and architectural conditions of the city to find out the possible causes of deterioration of the ancient buildings. General observation of the present conditions were also incorporated with the literature information to confirm the existing situation. Though the main causes of deterioration are identified as waterlogging, heavy precipitation, humidity, bio-deterioration and air-pollution, in this paper I tried to understand how these factors are helping to create various types of salts and how these salts are acting as an agent in decaying process of the monuments. They suffer rapid weathering caused by salts although the intensity of the damage depends on salt type. Present investigation shows that the surface of the buildings are rough and have a large number of cracks. Deterioration agents like rain water, acidic ion, salts, groundwater, atmospheric gases and plant roots can easily enter into those cracks and pores and make the weathering situation worse.

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Some Medieval Bridges of Bangladesh

by Ananna Showly and Ananna Zulfiqar Showly

Pratnatattva Journal of the Dept. of Archaeology Jahangirnagar University, Vol. 26, June 2020: 51-60, 2020

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Pratnatattva A Review on the Study of Various Salts Influencing Decay of Historical Buildings of Panam Nagar, Sonargaon, Bangladesh

'Pratnatattva', Journal of Dept. of Archaeology, Jahangirnagar University,Silver Jubilee Vol, 2019

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