Located 11km north of Bogra, Mahasthangarh, the ancient capital of Pundravardhana, home of the Pundra, a group of people not speaking languages of the Indo-European family, is one of the earliest urban archaeological sites so far discovered in Bangladesh. Mahasthan means a place that has excellent sanctity and garh means fort. A limestone slab bearing six lines in Prakrit in Brahmi script, discovered in 1931, dates Mahasthangarh to at least the 3rd century BC, and the fortified area was in use till the 18th century AD. The site is protected by the Karatoya River (now only a small stream) on the west and a deep moat on the south, west and part of the north.
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