Excavations at Moghalmari (2003-04 to 2007-08: An Old and Rare Book)

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Archaeological studies in eastern India particularly West Bengal received a great impetus with the establishments of the post-graduate department of Archaeology, under Calcutta University and Directorate of Archaeology under Government of West Bengal during early sixties. Asutosh Museum under Calcutta University earlier made valuable contributions in the field of Archaeology. Besides Archaeological Survey of India, Eastern Circle (now known as Calcutta Circle) has also made similar contributions. But the fact remains that the contributions made by these two above institutions in promoting archaeological research are unquestionable and added new dimension to the study.

The Post-Graduate Department of Archaeology, Calcutta University is consistently contributing to unfold the history of eastern India particularly West Bengal since its inception. The first major contributions of the Department to the history of Bengal is the discovery of the Raktamrttika Mahavihara by Prof. S. R. Das through his excavations at the village of Chhiruti-Jadupur in the district of Murshidabad. This Buddhist monastery was supposed to be located near Karnasuvarna, the capital city of Sasanka of Gaur according to Hiuen-Tsang's itinerary. During seventies and eighties, the major thrust area of research or focus of the Department under the guidance of Prof. Amita Ray, Prof. Anil Chandra Paul, Prof. Samir Mukherjee and Prof. Chitrarekha Gupta was directed to elucidate some of the crucial issues of the proto-historic culture of Bengal. The excavations at Mongalkote, Dihar and Pakhanna by the above scholars were largely fruitful to solve the issues relating to the origin, development, spatial coverage, impact of iron technology and the nature of transition etc. of the proto-historic culture of West Bengal which may be considered as major contributions of the Department to the history of eastern India particularly West Bengal.

Moghalmari is a village in Midnapur District of West Bengal. Excavations in this hitherto unknown village by Dr. Asok Datta with the help of a team of dedicated archaeologists conducted intensive excavations in this village, and discovered here the largest Buddhist monastery in West Bengal, which shows two structured phases, stretching from the 7th century AD to the 12th century A.D. The latter phase (11th 12th century) is unique for its wonderful stucco floral designs.

The excavation at Moghalmari certainly leads to advancement of our knowledge of Buddhism in Bengal. The work is brilliantly technical, and meant for those who know the technique of excavation, and conversant with the various details which are excavated. This work has eight chapters, each of which is characterized by an admirable mastery of details. It is an authoritative book, and its publication by the Asiatic Society is in conformity with the valuable publications which it brought out in the past and recent years for the benefit of scholars.