A large number of Buddhist monasteries, temples, stupas and most probably other establishments too were erected on the crests, slopes and foots of the hills between 6th and 13th century of the Christian era. Some of these, for instance, are Salban Vihara, Kutila Mura, Charpatra Mura, Mainamati’s Palace mound (Khan 1963, Rashid 1968), Rupban Mura (Alam M.S1992), Itakhola Mura (Rahman1997), Bhoj Vihara (Musa n.d) and Ananda Rajar Bari (Ahmed 1979) mounds have been excavated in the fast five decades.
The Site
The site of Ananda Vihara, locally known as Ananda Rajar Bari, is the largest monastery in Lalmia-Mainamati hill range. Situated at the foot of Mainamati hills along its eastern edge within the cantonment area the site is more than 2 km north of Salban Vihara and 1 km south of Kutila Mura. A large water tank, locally known as Ananda Rajar Dighi, lies by the east-north-east of the vihara. This gigantic monument is probably named after the name of Sree Ananda Deva, the third and the greatest ruler of the early Deva dynasty as revealed by the Salban Vihara copper-plates (Dani 1966) hithero unknown from any other source.
Excavation: 1975-1978
The excavation carried out between 1975 and 1978 unfolded partial remains of a large Buddhist monastery (the large in Mainamati and second largest in Bangladesh). Besides these structural remains, fairly large number of antiquities of various types had been recovered from the site. Of these a few Neolithic axes, one post Gupta imitation gold coin, one small gold ear ring, one inscribed silver coin of the Pattikera type, one terracotta tablet, a number of treeacotta plaques, a few bronze images of Buddhist gods and goddesses, about two dozen of terracotta sealings, a few clay and baked clay votive stupas , a beautiful bronze saucer, a few semi-precious stone beads, some ornamental bricks and earthen objects were also salvaged during the operation.
Built of burnt bricks on a square plan the monastery measured 190.5. m long each side. The monastic cells along with the verandah were arranged in rows in its four wings around an open courtyard. The projected massive gateway of the monastery was accommodated in the middle of the northern wing.it was 30.48m E-W by 13.72 m N-S and the entrance passage in the middle of the gateway was 2.29 m K-W by 8.38 m N-S. on either side of the entrance passage layout of six cells had been partially cleared. Excavation in these cells revealed cultural accumulation of two phases of building activities.
Excavation:1979-1982
During this period excavation at Ananda Vihara had been conducted along the exterior wall of the southern and eastern wings, verandah wall of southern and western wings, in the middle of the monastic cells of the southern wing, in the south-east corner of the , monastery, in the southern half of central shrine and in a portion of the courtyard (between the central shrine and the middle of the southern wing).
Summary Of The Result
As a result of excavation the entire exterior wall of the southern wing, certain portions of the exterior wall of the northern wing , small part of the exterior wall of the eastern wing at its southern and northern corners, large part of the verandah and its retaining wall of the southern and western wing, layout of a cell in the southern corner of the eastern wing, five monastic cells in the middle of the southern sing, one cell in its eastern corner, a projection along the middle of the verandah of this wing, a portion of the cruciform central shrine and a part of the courtyard (between the central shrine and the middle of the southern wing) had been exposed. All the monastic cells showed the evidence of two phases of building activities. One cell exposed in the middle of the southern wing was found to be larger than the other adjacent cells. Besides these structural remains, more than five hundred antiquities had been registered. Among them a large but broken image of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara fabricated from Dupi Tila Formation, locally known as soft stone; two small bronze images, two bronze saucers, fragments of a bronze vessel, forty terracotta plaques and plaque fragments, some terracotta sealings, a few semiprecious stone beads, a fairly large number of ornamental bricks and some earthen objects are notewothy.
Monastery Of The First Phase
The internal dimension of the cells of the monastery’s first phase was 3.28 m × 2.74 m. The back wall of the cells was 4.88 m wide but the width of the front wall could not be ascertained as the second phase verandah and it’s retaining wall were built over this wall. But the foundation was traced in the south-east corner of the monastery at a depth of 5.70 m from the surviving top. Cells were divided by 1.85 m wide partition walls. Facing the front walls there was a verandah, a small portion of which along with its retaining wall was exposed in the south-east corner of the monastery. As many as five brick-dust floors were exposed in this verandah. There was related to layers (1), (2), (4), (5), and (10), respectively. A portion of the verandah and the retaining wall measuring 1.5 m wide was exposed in the middle of the southern wing also. Hear digging was restricted in the upper level. No floor could be traced in the cell area as the second phase front wall was built over the major portion of the heavily distributed first phase cell. In front of the larger hall (exposed in the middle of the southern wing) the verandah and the retaining wall could not be traced as there is a projection of the second phase. It is yet to be ascertained whether this projection existed in the first phase too.
Monastery Of The Second Phase
During the second phase of the building activity the builders did not change the external alignment of the original monastery but internally change the layout of the monastic cells and verandah. In the later phase of width of the original (first phase) exterior wall to 2.88 m. from 4.88 m .According all other related structures viz. front wall, verandah and its retaining wall were also shifted backward. It is evident that the builders removed the bricks from the exterior wall (2 m backward from the inner face) at places up to its foundation. A deep cavity was thus created ) and was filled in by sandy soil carried from outside. This infilling was about 2.5 m thick. The second phase builders built 1.89 m wide front wall over the middle of the first phase cells. Thus a portion of the first phase cell was left in its (second phase front wall) either side. Over the major portion of front wall and a small portion of the cell of the first phase, verandah of the second phase monastery was built.
