Unseen Bangladesh
Narsingdi District · Dhaka Division · উয়ারী-বটেশ্বর
Wari-Bateshwar travel guide
The site of an ancient fortified city; coins, beads and a brick road have been found here.
At a glance
- Period
- From about 450 BC (about 2,500 years)
- Location
- Belabo and Shibpur upazilas
- Excavation
- Jahangirnagar University, since 2000
- Museum
- Oitijjo Onneshon archaeological collection
History and details
From the 1930s farmers in Wari and Bateshwar villages kept finding ancient coins and beads while digging. Local schoolteacher Mohammad Hanif Pathan and his son Habibullah Pathan collected and wrote about them for many years, bringing the site's importance to light.
Since 2000, excavations by Jahangirnagar University led by Professor Sufi Mostafizur Rahman have found evidence here of a fortified city about 2,500 years old — earthen ramparts, moats, a brick-paved road, punch-marked silver coins, beads of precious stones and signs of trade with the Roman and Mediterranean world.
Many researchers think Wari-Bateshwar is 'Sounagoura', the trading centre mentioned in the Greek geographer Ptolemy's 'Geographia'. It is one of the oldest signs of urban civilisation in Bangladesh.
Things to do
- See the excavated ramparts and road
- See the beads and coins at the local collection
- Visit Belabo's latkan orchards in season
How to get to Wari-Bateshwar
In Belabo upazila; about 40 km by CNG from Narsingdi.
Narsingdi is about 52 km from Dhaka; the journey takes 1.5–2 hours.
- 🚌 By bus: Narsingdi buses from Gulistan/Sayedabad, fare ৳80–150.
- 🚆 By train: Chattogram/Sylhet/Kishoreganj trains from Kamalapur via Narsingdi, fare ৳45–150.
Where to stay
The district town has basic and mid-range hotels (roughly ৳800–2,500). Government circuit houses and dak bungalows can be used with permission.
What to eat
Narsingdi's Sagar bananas, latkan (Belabo-Shibpur)
Good to know
- Finds can be seen at the 'Oitijjo Jadughar' (heritage museum) in the village
- The dig sites may be under water in the monsoon
- Bring back Belabo latkan (July–August)
More to see nearby
- Shibpur's latkan orchards
- Dream Holiday Park (35 km)
- Narsingdi town (40 km)
More places to visit in Narsingdi district
- Dream Holiday Park — A big amusement park beside the Dhaka–Sylhet highway, with a water park and many rides.