An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s19.t1.8

v1.c9.s19.t1.8

4. 19.4 *Lower Ganga region.* The Ganga and its tributaries provide the natural background for the establishment of centres—commercial and political—in their valleys. The importance of Tāmralipta, TAMLUK in Dt Midnapur, whose antiquity going back to the Mauryan times has been mentioned above [4.18.5], does not seem to have continued as an important port-city during the post-Kushan period. The discovery of the foundation of a Gupta (or probably Pāla) temple and the surface collection of the bust of a stone Buddha image of the Mathura type (4th century) notwithstanding, CHANDRAKETUGARH [4.18.5] fails to produce any significant evidence to show its political and commercial importance after its Śuṅga-Kushan phase.