History, Archaeology & Heritage
HISTORY
During the last one million years, when humans are known to have existed in various parts of India, Sri Lanka was connected to the sub-continent on numerous occasions. The rise and fall of sea level (due to cold/warm fluctuations in the global climate) determined the periodicities of these connections, the last separation having occurred at ca. 7000 BP. There is secure evidence of settlements in Sri Lanka by 130,000 years ago, probably by 300,000 BP and possibly by 500,000 BP or earlier.
Five centuries before Christ, Sri Lanka was a land throbbing with vitality and a well-ordered civilization. Cities, palaces, reservoirs, parks, temples, monasteries, monuments and works of art bore testament to the character, imagination, culture, philosophy and faith of the people of Sri Lanka, the Resplendent Land. Vestiges of this ancient civilization are abundantly extant today. The documented history begins with the arrival of the Aryans from North India.
- Pre- and protohistoric settlement in Sri Lanka (By S. U. Deraniyagala, Director-General of Archaeology, Sri Lanka)
- Pallemalala discovery throws new light on Lanka's pre-historic culture ( A major archaeological breakthrough that could shed new light on the physical type and lifestyle of the island's pre-historic population has been accomplished by a team of Sri Lankan Archaeologists )
- SRI LANKA - HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE ( covers more than 2,000 years. Known as Lanka--the "resplendent land"--in the ancient Indian epic Ramayana, the island has numerous other references that testify to the island's natural beauty and wealth. Islamic folklore maintains that Adam and Eve were offered refuge on the island as solace for their expulsion from the Garden of Eden )
- The complete book: A SHORT HISTORY OF LANKA by Humphry William Codrington published in 1929 ( The text of the whole 50,000 word book was translated to HTML by Rhajiv Ratnatunga in Pittsburgh. PA USA )
- The complete book: Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. (1845 - 1853) by Samuel White Baker ( Translated to HTML by Rhajiv Ratnatunga in Pittsburgh. PA USA )
- Sri Lanka History (by Sri Lankan Association of Manitoba)
- Hiuen Tsiang’s description of Sri Lanka ( Between the years 629 and 645 AD the famous Chinese monk Hiuen Tsiang travelled through Central Asia and India to visit Buddhist sacred places )
- Ceylon - Catholic Encyclopedia ( Galle in the south of the island is by some believed to be the seaport of ancient Tarshish from which King Solomon drew his "ivory, apes, and peacocks" )
- Ancient Sinhala Civilization ( by Sydney Karunawardena )
- Sri Lanka History (by Sri Lankan High Commission - Canada -)
- Jaffnapatnum
- Ancient Jaffna (by C. Rasanayagam, 1926)
- The So-called Tamil Kingdom of Jaffna - Prof S. Ranwella ( SPUR web site )
- The Lost Cities of Ruhuna
- Tissamaharamaya - the modernised monument of Magama
- History of Kandy : The Senkadagalapura
- Kandy : The roots of rebellion
- Re-entering history: The Rebel of Kandy: The Konappu Bandara
- How the Wily British took the Kandyan chiefs for a ride
- Ehelapola the great (Ehelapola Maha Adigar or Ehelapola the Great was the leader of the successful coup against the despot King Sri Wickrema Rajasingha (1798 -1815). He planned to overthrow the king because he ruled as a despot and he was a cruel tyrant. Ehelapola, was a pure bred Brahmin and a very devout Buddhist )
- Ehelepola, first Adigar or Prime Minister ( Ehelapola Maha Nileme was arrested on the 2nd of March 1818, and was moved forthwith under escort to Colombo )
- Madduma Bandara - Lanka's Child Hero ( 186 years ago on May 17, 1814,the family Adigar Ehelepola was brutally beheaded on the orders of Sri Wickrama Raja Singha. The second son Madduma Bandara who was 7 years at the time created world history for his bravery )
- Ehelepola Medduma Bandara ( A Child Hero by S. B. Karaliyadda
- King Sri Wickrema Rajasingha, the last of the Nayakkars ( According to the nomenclature of kings who ruled Sri Lanka from King Vijaya (BC 543), the last Sinhala King was Viraparakrama Narendrasingha. He died in 1739, having ruled the country for 33 years. )
- Rajasinghe-II of Senkadagala( Having ascended to the throne in 1635 at the age of 27, he ruled for 52 years, and died at 79 years on 6th December 1687. )
- Queen Rengammal - Last queen of Lanka
- Sri Lanka Ruled the Waves: The days of Parakrama Bahu
- Ancient ports of call in Sri Lanka ( Jambukola and Mahatittha are two ports mentioned frequently in the Mahavamsa, in its resume of the history of the island. Sri Lankans are not totally of Indian descendants and Aryan immigrants only provided a cross-cultural impact on Sri Lanka, which already had an advanced civilization. )
- Ancient Sri-Lankan trade and cultural links with China ( The earliest authenticated reference to Sri Lankan links with China is made by the Roman historian and naturalist Pliny the elder who fell victim to the catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Pliny chronicles an account of a Sri Lankan embassy to Rome in the reign of emperor Claudius Caesar (10 B.C. - 54 B.C.). )
- Garrison Cemetery - Kandy (THE Garrison Cemetery in Kandy has been the resting place since 1817 for British Administrators, Government Agents, Planters....)
- China's ceramic trade with ancient Rajarata (By Prof. W. I. Siriweera )
- A historic journey in 1864 ( The first train journey in Sri Lanka )
- Vasco Da Gama's heroic voyage: Implications for Sri Lanka ( Vasco da Gama's (1469-1524) voyage to India, which is rated as one of the greatest achievements of mankind. It turned the Indian Ocean into a Portuguese lake in the century that followed )
- History of the Dutch in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) The Burgher of Ceylon ( Under the command of Admiral Joris Van Spilbergen, on the 31 May 1602, the first Dutch ships that visited Ceylon anchored off the port of Batticaloa )
- Madhu seventy-five years ago ( It was in the Portuguese period of Lanka's history (1505-1658) that the Catholic faith was brought into this country)
- Sri Lanka in World War II
ARCHAEOLOGY
- Galle - A Port City in History (Papers from the Seminar - Edited by Jeremy Green & Robert Parthesius)
- Virtual gallary of Lanka Coins (Coins from Sri Lanka (Ceylon)- By Kavan Ratnatunga)
- Banknotes of Ceylon/Sri Lanka - Billets de Ceylan (A collection from 10 Shillings note issued in 01 May 1866 to all the rupee notes)
- Waterways of Serendib ( Dutch Canals in Sri Lanka )
- Archeological remains in Sri Lanka: The Dutch and
the Portuguese Forts, Churches and Waterways in Ceylon ( The Portuguese built in 1560
the fortress of Nossa Senhora dos Milagres. Jaffna was the last place in Portuguese hands in Ceylon,
they lost it in 1658 )
- Mahavamsa, Mahavihara and Mahayana (The D. T. Devendra Memorial Lecture -1998 by Dr. Raja de Silva )
- DIPAVAMSA AND MAHAVAMSA - A comparative study (By Aryadasa Ratnasinghe)
- Ports in ancient Sri Lanka ( by Prof. W. I. Siriweera Vice Chancellor, Rajarata University )
- The buried Kingdom of Kotte ( Now Sri Jayawardenapura )
- Ancient Polonnaruwa and its environs
( Polonnaruwa was a centre of habitation in the pre-historic era )
- Star-struck stupas in ancient Anuradhapura
( 'Heaven's Mirror' - A perfect alignment of the three main stupas (Mirisavati, Ruvanweli and Jetavana) at Anuradhapura, with three stars in the constellation of Orion, namely Rigel, Al Nitak and Bellatrix.)
- Road to Ramayana (When Ravana abducted Sita, it led to war. 200 million years ago, geologically Sri Lanka was linked with India, Madagascar, Australia and Antarctica, in a land mass known as Gondwana.Sri Lanka separated into a land mass known as Lanka Dvipa (Island of Lanka), and part of the land submerged into the sea. According to the Ramayana epic this took place because of the misdeeds of Ravana, but this seismic happening is confirmed by modern science.)
- Discoveries of Godawaya archaeological excavations with German collaboration ( Godawaya is an ancient site on the coast to the south of the Walawe ganga in the Magama Pattuwa of the Hambantota district. )
HERITAGE
- World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka
- Asian Architecture: Sri Lanka
- Sigiriya
- St. Lucia's Cathedral - Kotahena : The oldest & the largest
- St. Mary's Church Grand Street, Negombo, a monumental 125 years ( The coastal city of Negombo in the Western Province, the predominant Catholic area in Sri Lanka known as the "Little Rome" )
- Akerawita vihara: A historically important temple ( A Raja Maha Vihara )
- Gods & Goddesses of Jambudvipa and Lanka
- Heritage of the South
- Sri Lanka's only urban forest
where a king once bathed in the Royal Pond (Taking a stroll in Udawattekelle)
- Seetha Eliya
( The Ramayana introduces King Ravana as a mighty flamboyant King of Lanka. King Ravana
was a devotee of god Siva the holder of Pushparaga the chariot. It was Ravana who seized
Seetha from Parnasalai in India, the holy hut of Rama and was brought to Asok Vana, a beautiful
park at Seetha-Eliya on the Pushparaga, an air chariot - without touching her )
- Savour cool Kotmale climes
( The historic Pahala Walauwa )
- Sithulpahuwa
( The Rock Caves and dagobas at Sithulpahuwa are well-known. Arahants numbering 12,000 had seen living in the caves. Situated
in the jungle strip in the Southern most part of Sri Lanka Sithulpahuwa is 25 km from the
village of Yodakandiya on the Tissa-Kirinda road. It is 16 km to the south of Kataragama )
- Sri Pada - Glorious shadow and its parallels the holiest of the holy hills
- Sri Pada - Sanctuary for all faiths ( The great dynastic chronicle of Sri Lanka (Mahawamsa), contains the earliest authenticated records of the peak having being dedicated to Gautama Buddha and the Hindu deity Saman. )
- Small Dambulla cave Temple in Sabaragamuwa Valagamba Rajamahavihara ( King Valagamba (Vattagamani Abhaya) who ruled the country 2100 years ago is well-known for offering len-vihara cave temples for the sasana )
- Ancient Maladeniya Temple - Historic significance yet to be unravelled ( Maladeniya is a small historic village in the Mirigama area. According to the history and folk lore of the villages, King Walagamba took refuge in the caves of the huge hill for some time )
- Kataragama ( Sri Lankan Hindus believe that their tender Lord Murugan left India long ago to come and settle in Kathir-kamam (the place of light and love-passion) where his vilaiyaatal (divine play) continue even to this day. According to Islamic esoteric tradition. Kataragama or Khadiragama is the very place that prophet Moses journeyed to in quest of higher teachings from the undying Servant of Allah, al Khadir, the legendary 'Green Man'. And, as Buddhists know, the Tathagatas themselves have come to Kataragama with the object of delivering discourses on Dhamma )
- Anuradhapura: Its origin, fall and revival
( As legend has it, over 2500 years ago in 500 B.C., Sakya, brother of Princes Badda Kanchana laid the foundation for the city of Anuradhapura under the Asterim Anuradha, auspiciously aspected by the planets. )
- Pearls - a global fascination
( Sri Lanka has the widest variety of precious stones among the gem producing countries of the world. What is even more, is
that its fame for gem stones began 2000 years ago with the most perfect of them - pearls from our oysters in the Gulf of
Mannar. )
- Kandy Esala Perahera - Origins of a historic pageant steeped in ritual ( Before 1775, the Esala perahera in Kandy was exclusively held to entreat and implore the four guardian deities of the island, viz: Natha, Vishnu, Kataragama and Pattini. This is confirmed by Robert Knox, who was a captive in the Kandyan provinces for twenty years (1659-1679). )
GEOGRAPHY
Many more links to similar articles are in the "Culture, Society and People" section of the Virtual Library - Sri Lanka