Bhitargarh: A Catalyst for Living Archaeological Park in Bangladesh
Keywords:
Fortified city, Archaeological site, Community archaeology, Bhitargarh, Tourism, eco-tourismAbstract
The qualitative study aims to explore how community archaeology can be utilized to introduce the potential scopes of living archaeological park at the largest fortified settlement in Bangladesh. Open ended questionnaire was used to collect the data from the interview session with the team leader of the archaeological investigation and excavation at Bhitargarh, The study outcome reveals that the archaeological heritage tourism can be introduced at Bhitargarh as a form of living archaeological park in Bangladesh. It is found that the archaeological (tangible heritage such as archaeological relics and excavated materials) and cultural (intangible heritage such as festival, events and traditions) resources can be preserved by the community archaeology at Bhitargarh. The findings of the study implores that the community archaeology of Bhitargarh can be empowered by the active community engagement in tourism planning, decision-making and tour operation. It is suggested that the patronization of the community archaeology at Bhitargarh can be exhibited as a model for future archaeological investigation and excavation for the purpose of archaeological heritage preservation and archaeological heritage tourism in Bangladesh.
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