Nateshwar holds prospect of emerging as a world heritage site

MUNSHIGANJ, Jan 3 (UNB): Nateshwar excavation area of Vikrampura Buddhist archeological location has all the potentials to emerge as another world heritage site in Bangladesh.

It has got a unique combination of religious and culturally-important structures, a centerpiece of ancient Bengal and the very location of the site is close by to the country's capital, said archeologists on Wednesday, emphasizing on proper preservation and development of the area.

At Nateshwar excavation site in Munshiganj's Tongibari upazila, researchers and experts have discovered several archaeological evidences of a Buddhist city older than a thousand years. These include an entrance and walkway, prayer hall, mortar floor, octagonal stupas, pot shreds, baked clay materials, and burnt bricks.

The aesthetic of these stupas is unique in architectural style. A stupa is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics that is used as a place of meditation.