Panchagarh Rocks Museum (রকস মিউজিয়াম)

The Rocks Museum is a small museum of stones, fossils and local artefacts on the campus of Panchagarh Government Women's College in Panchagarh, the northernmost district of Bangladesh. Described as the first museum of its kind in the country, it suits travellers in the far north with an interest in geology or local history.

A college principal's collection from 1997

Dr Md Nazmul Haque, then principal of the college, began the museum in 1997 with stones he gathered in 1997 and 1998. Many came from Bhitargarh, an old fort site in Panchagarh, and nearby places. A government tourism page dates the museum to 2000.

Petrified wood, granite, basalt and sea shells

The collection covers petrified wood, fossil-bearing stone, granite, quartzite, basalt, limestone, silica and clay rock, and sea shells.

Old pottery, sculpture and village household objects

Old bricks, pottery, stone sculptures and terracotta pieces are estimated at 300 to 2,000 years old. A section on local life shows household objects of indigenous communities, images of Vishnu and Ganesh, metal utensils, lamps, drums, a one-stringed instrument and Mughal-era swords. The best-known pieces are two boats, each carved from a single log, with age estimates from about 300 to 1,000 years.

No curator and little room to grow

The museum has no curator and no regular government funding, so collecting has largely stopped and display space is tight.