Archaeologist Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay
Research Paper: Archaeologist Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay
Archaeologist Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay was an Indian archaeologist, historian, and pioneer in the ancient Bengal language. He was born in 1885 and died in 1930 (1). He graduated with honors from Presidency College in Calcutta which is located in West Bengal in India. One of Bandyopadhyay’s most known discoveries was finding the site called Mohenjodaro. This was very important because this site was from the Harappan culture which dates back to approximately 2800 B.C(2). Along with finding this site, archaeologist Rakhaldas also wrote various books and articles that interpreted his findings. One article was called “An Indian City Five Thousand Years Ago” and was published in the Calcutta Magazine Gazette in 1928 (2). Along with his article ‘An Indian City Five Thousand Years Ago’, he also had a book called ‘Prehistoric, Ancient and Hindu Indian’ posthumously published in 1934. He was very knowledgable since he studied ancient Bengla writing and also studied ancient Indian art and coins from past civilizations (2). Without archaeologist Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay, little would be known about the Harappa civilization that existed along the Indus River. The discovery of the site of Mohenjodaro was a huge discovery that shed some light into Harappan civilization. Mohenjodaro means “mound of the dead”. It was discovered in 1922 by Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay who was a member of the Archaeological Survey of India (4). He originally went to the Sindh province of Pakistan to search for pillars of victory that were made by the Greeks but instead he saw a large mound. There was a large mound of dirt over the site and at first he believed that there was a buddhist stupa underneath. A stupa is a term used by buddhists to refer to a monument that contains religious buddhist artifacts (5). This would make sense to Bandyopadhyay because there were several stupa’s found in India and there were also buddhist burial mounds. While
Archaeologist Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay was an Indian archaeologist, historian, and pioneer in the ancient Bengal language. He was born in 1885 and died in 1930 (1). He graduated with honors from Presidency College in Calcutta which is located in West Bengal in India. One of Bandyopadhyay’s most known discoveries was finding the site called Mohenjodaro. This was very important because this site was from the Harappan culture which dates back to approximately 2800 B.C(2). Along with finding this site, archaeologist Rakhaldas also wrote various books and articles that interpreted his findings. One article was called “An Indian City Five Thousand Years Ago” and was published in the Calcutta Magazine Gazette in 1928 (2). Along with his article ‘An Indian City Five Thousand Years Ago’, he also had a book called ‘Prehistoric, Ancient and Hindu Indian’ posthumously published in 1934. He was very knowledgable since he studied ancient Bengla writing and also studied ancient Indian art and coins from past civilizations (2). Without archaeologist Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay, little would be known about the Harappa civilization that existed along the Indus River. The discovery of the site of Mohenjodaro was a huge discovery that shed some light into Harappan civilization. Mohenjodaro means “mound of the dead”. It was discovered in 1922 by Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay who was a member of the Archaeological Survey of India (4). He originally went to the Sindh province of Pakistan to search for pillars of victory that were made by the Greeks but instead he saw a large mound. There was a large mound of dirt over the site and at first he believed that there was a buddhist stupa underneath. A stupa is a term used by buddhists to refer to a monument that contains religious buddhist artifacts (5). This would make sense to Bandyopadhyay because there were several stupa’s found in India and there were also buddhist burial mounds. While
Citations: 1. Bhattacharyya, Amitabha. "BANGLAPEDIA: Bandyopadhyay, Rakhaldas." BANGLAPEDIA: Bandyopadhyay, Rakhaldas. National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh, n.d. Web. 06 July 2013. 2. "Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 07 Apr. 2013. Web. 06 July 2013. 3. Swanson, Emily. "Harappan Civilization." : Ca. 3000-1500 BC. N.p., 14 Sept. 1998. Web. 06 July 2013. 4. "The Mysteries of Mohenjo Daro." Pakistan Hotels. Pakistan Hotels, n.d. Web. 06 July 2013. 5. "stupa". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 07 Jul. 2013 6. "Ruins of the Buddhist Vihara at Paharpur." - UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, n.d. Web. 06 July 2013.