Archaeologists have discovered artefacts in central Bangladesh that resembles traits of the Chalcolithic culture, which is around 4,000 years old, and believe the finds are the earliest signs of settlement in the region, The Daily Star reported Sunday.

The excavators, led by Sufi Mostafizur Rahman, Chairman of the Department of Archaeology at Jahangirnagar University, traced a pit-dwelling, one of the primary means of living, at Wari-Bateswar in central Narsingdi district, some 70 km from the capital.

This is the first discovery of the Chalcolithic occurrence in the country.

The Chalcolithic Age, also known as the Aeneolithic or Copper Age, is a phase in the development of human culture in which the use of early metal tools appeared alongside the use of stone tools.

Artefacts of the pit-dwelling era in the Indian subcontinent have been found at places including Burzahom at Swat Valley in Pakistan, which is around 5,000 years old, and Inamgaon in South India, which dated back to around 1400BC-700BC.

The excavators found a water reservoir, a hearth, a storage pit and some household accessories inside the pit-dwelling. They also unearthed an earlier dug-out road, leading to what seems to be a fortified town.

Prof Dilip K Chakraborty, an expert on South Asian archaeology and a teacher of Cambridge University, said the discovery of pit- dwelling is historic.

"Hearing about the measurement and description of the site, I think, that is definitely a pit-dwelling," Chakraborty was quoted as saying by the daily.

The discovery is historic as no such settlement has been found in the region earlier, Chakraborty said.

A pioneer in the field, Rahman had started excavating the area in 2000 and unearthed relics and artefacts, challenging the established notion that the region did not have any history of early urbanization.

Source: Xinhua