The West Bengal Heritage Commission organised a news conference on Friday at the Rabindranath Tagore Centre, ICCR, to announce its plans for Chandraketugarh, an archaeological site in North 24-Parganas, 34km from Calcutta.

The walled city, which remains largely underground, dates from the pre-Mauryan (600BC) to the Pala-Sena period (1250AD). “Bengal’s history didn’t begin with Job Charnock...Chandraketugarh has immense possibilities as a major source of historic, geographical, economic and social knowledge,” said Amartya Sen at the event.

Commission chairman Shuvaprasanna spoke of plans to turn the 100-acre site into a heritage destination on an international scale. “Though the place was declared ‘protected’ in 1920, encroachment has continued unchecked. Today human settlements and agricultural land leave little space for excavation. Lack of awareness among residents has made Chandraketugarh a paradise for pilferers,” the painter said. The commission was in talks with the district authorities on the eviction of encroachers and on stepping up security and identifying spots for a site-museum and tourist facilities such as guesthouses and restaurants.

Commission member Sugato Bose said a seminar on Chandraketugarh would be held in July while former MP Krishna Bose said the Centre for Archaeological Studies and Training, of which she is chairperson, would publish a compilation of essays and reports on Chandraketugarh.

Amal Roy, the deputy director of the State Archaeological Survey, said: “Two plots of private land measuring around a bigha have been identified for excavations to begin in winter next year.”