Areas of Interest
South Asian Archaeology, Southeast Asian Archaeology, Maritime Archaeology, South Asian Art and Architecture, Islamic Art and Architecture, Cultural Heritage Management, Museuology.
She has twenty-two years' experience in teaching and research in the field of South and Southeast Asian history, culture and archaeology, maritime archaeology, Islamic art and architecture and cultural heritage management. As a professional archaeologist, she has built up a record of enviable experience from participation at numerous excavations in India and Bangladesh. Since 2008, she has been excavating Bhitargarh archaeological site in Panchagarh district as a project director. At Bhitargarh, she has also developed various strategies to stimulate public interest in cultural heritage preservation and management. She travelled extensively in South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, North America, England and Europe to carry out archaeological research, studied museum collections, delivered lectures in the seminars and conferences. Currently, she is associated with fourteen professional societies at home and abroad.
Current Projects:
Bhitargarh Archaeological Excavation and Research funded by ULAB and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Bangladesh
Awards:
‘Asia Fellow Award 2010-2011’ under the fellowship program administered by the Asian Scholarship Foundation under the Royal Patronage of H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn (ASF) for undertaking a research on maritime trade between Bengal and Thailand from the fourth century BCE to the fourth century CE in Thailand (2010- 2011).
‘Anannya Top Ten Award’ nominated by Anannya, a fortnightly magazine for women, Dhaka, as one of the top ten women for the year 2008, for making significant contributions to the field of archaeology in Bangladesh.
ICCR Scholarship by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Ministry of External Affairs, India for conducting.Phil and Ph.D research in Archaeology at the Deccan College Post-graduate and Research Institute, Pune, India (1996-2004).
UGC grant for conducting research titled “History of the Bara Bhuiya’s and Contemporary Architecture in Bangladesh” as a research Fellow at the Department of Islamic History and Culture, University of Dhaka (1995-1996).
Excavating Waves and Winds of (Ex)change: A Study of Maritime Trade in Early Bengal. Oxford: John and Erica Hedges Ltd.
Cumulative Index to the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh: 1956-2005. Dhaka: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
Maritime Trade between Thailand and Bengal. Journal of Fine Arts (Chiang Mai University, Thailand), 3(2), 205-228.
Archaeological Explorations and Excavations at Bhitargarh (2008-2011). Diamond Jubilee Volume of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh (Harun or Rashid Ed, Dhaka: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh), 50, 449-482.
Archaeology of Wari-Bateshwar. Ancient Asia (A journal of the Society of South Asian Archaeology, Pune), 2, 135-146.
Rouletted Ware Links South and Southeast Asia through Maritime Trade. SPAFA Journal (A Publication of the SEAMEO Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts, Bangkok), 20(3), 5-16. Rouletted Ware Links South and Southeast Asia through Maritime Trade. SPAFA Journal (A Publication of
Archaeological Investigations at Bhitargarh in Panchagarh District. Journal of Bengal Art (The International Centre for Study of Bengal Art, Dhaka), Vo. 15, pp. 173-200.
Borobudur Jāhāj Ebaṁ Dakșin Asīa Sāmudrik Jogājog: Samikshā (in Bengali). Islami Shilpakala (Dhaka), 1, 136-146.
Narrating State in Early Historic Bengal, Man and Environment (Journal of the Indian Society for Prehistoric and Quaternary Studies, Pune), XXXIII (I), 106-115.
Borobudur Jāhāj: Punarbiśleșan O Matadvaitatā Nirasan (in Bengali). Bāngladesh Asiatic Society Patrikā (Dhaka), 26, (1), 57-73.
The ‘Bengalee Merchants’ of Tome Pires. Itihas Samokalin Oitihasikder Kalome ... 06 (Samina Sultana Ed. Dhaka), 129-135..
The Port of Tāmralipti in Early Bengal. Journal of the Indian Ocean Archaeology (New Delhi), 2, 115-135.
Prehistoric Archaeology in Bangladesh: An Overview. A Companion to South Asia in the Past, Gwen Robbins Schug and Subhash R. Walimbe (Ed.), pp. 401-411, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Maritime Trade of Bengal as Gleaned from Persian Literary Sources. India and Iran: Our Cultural Legacy of the Past, Mohammad Nazrul Bari (Ed.), Pune: Department of History, AKI’s Poona College of Arts Science.
Sonargaon: A Medieval Port City in Bangladesh. Urbanity and Economy: The Pre modern Dynamics in Eastern India, Ratnabali Chatterjee (Ed.), pp. 143-156. Kolkata: Setu Prakashani.
Bhitargarh: A Ruined City of Prthu Rājā in Ancient Kāmrūpa. 50 Years after Daojali Hading: Emerging Perspectives in the Archaeology of Northeast India (Essays in Honour of Tarun Chandra Sharma), Tiatoshi Jamir and Manjil Hazarika (Eds.), Chapter 21, pp. 212-227. New Delhi: Research India Press.
An Early Northwest Indian Decorated Bronze Bowl from Khao Sam Kaeo (jointly written with Professor Ian C. Glover). Before Siam: essays in Art and Archaeology, Nicolas Revire and Stephen A. Murphy (Eds.), pp. 90-97. Bangkok: River Books and The Siam Society.
Bhitargarh: The Largest Fortified Settlement in Bangladesh. Celebration of One Thousand & Thirty-Three Birth Anniversary of Atiśa Dipaṃkar Śrījñāna, pp. 7-31, Dhaka: Bangladesh Heritage Foundation.
Archaeology of the Birthplace of Atiśa Dipaṃkar Śrījñāna. Celebration of One Thousand & Thirty-Three Birth Anniversary of Atiśa Dipaṃkar Śrījñāna, pp. 32-34, Dhaka: Bangladesh Heritage Foundation.
Archaeology of Bhitargarh Fortified Site in Panchagarh District, Bangladesh. Multifaceted Studies in South Asian Archaeology: ARPITAM (Festschrift for Professor Vidula Jayaswal), S. Rama Krishna Pisipaty (Ed.), pp. 65-72, Oxford: BAR International Series 2361.
Bangladesher Sarba Brihat Durganagari “Bhitargarh”, Pratna-Itihas O Silpa Charcha, Rajib Banu (Ed.), pp. 76-79, Kolkata-Banglar Suratattva
Bhitargarh: The Largest Fortified Settlement in Bangladesh. Nazimuddin Ahmed Commemoration Volume 2010-2011, Syed Mahmudul Hasan (Ed.), pp. 340-372. Dhaka: Islamic Arts Organization Bangladesh.
Bhitargarh: Bangladesher Sarba Brihat Durganagari. Orbak, Drabir Saikat (Ed.), pp. 112-116, Dhaka.
Dhamrai Metal Craft. Culture Craft, April-May issue, pp. 39-43, Dhaka.
Archaeology of Wari-Bateshwar. Dotara (Dhaka), p. 3, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh.
Ostād Kāmāluddin Bihzād (in Bengali). Smaranikā ’96, Abdul Awal Howlader (Ed.), pp. 47-48, Dhaka: Allumni Association, Department of Islamic History & Culture, University of Dhaka.
Early Historic Maritime Trade in Bengal: A Query into Seagoing Means of Transportation. Prāgdhārā ( Jounal of the U.P. State Archaeology Department 2008-2009, No. 19 (Allahabad). Proceedings of the South Asian Archaeology Conference, London.
Recent Archaeological Investigations in Bangladesh. Recent Research Trends in South Asian Archaeology: Proceedings of the Professor H.D. Sankalia Birth Centenary Seminar (10-12 December 2007), K. Paddayya, P.P. Joglekar, Kishor K. Basa and Reshma Sawant (Eds.), pp. 333-347. Pune: Deccan College Pos
Bengal's Participation in the Indian Ocean Trade: Early Historic Period. Glimpses of Marine Archaeology in India: Proceedings of the Seventh Indian Conference on Marine Archaeology of Indian Ocean Countries, 6-7 October 2005, A.S. Gaur and K.H. Vora (Eds.), pp. 49-64. Goa: Society for Marine Archaeo
