Department of Archaeology

The department is struggling to balance modern archaeological research and site protection against infrastructure gaps and allegations of land management misconduct.

Established 1947 following Partition; first director was Q.M. Moneer, initially headquartered at Varendra Research Museum, Rajshahi before relocation to Dhaka. Reorganised as 'Department of Archaeology and Museums' in 1972 following independence; current name and structure formalised through the 1983 reorganisation that created four divisional regional offices. A fifth regional office (Rangpur) was added in November 2025. The department operates from the Administration Building, Agargaon, Dhaka (since 2013). Current Director General is Sabina Alam (rank: Additional Secretary); exact appointment date not confirmed in primary sources, head_since left null. The department manages approximately 493 protected sites as of the most recent published count, including two UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Somapura Mahavihara at Paharpur, inscribed 1985; Mosque City of Bagerhat with Sixty Dome Mosque, inscribed 1985). Sonargaon and Panam Nagar are protected under DoA but are NOT UNESCO World Heritage Sites; they are on Bangladesh's UNESCO tentative list. The joint France-Bangladesh excavation at Mahasthangarh has operated continuously under a 1992 bilateral agreement; the 2025 season (January-February) found an ancient pond/tank feature. FY2025-26 cultural sector budget is Tk 824 crore for the whole Ministry of Cultural Affairs; no DoA-specific line item was found in public sources -- annual_budget_bdt left null and fy_budget_year set to indicate the fiscal year of the only available figure. Staff count not published in any primary source reviewed; left null. No Bangladesh-specific UNESCO World Heritage nomination was submitted in the 90-day window; Bangladesh's tentative list submission 'Archaeological Sites on the Deltaic Landscape of Bangladesh' was added in 2023. The article count of '452 sites' (cited in some sources as of 2016) has since grown; the most recent reliable figure found was approximately 493 as of 2024 per Wikipedia and Banglapedia cross-check.