Menik Vehera is a Buddhist monastic complex located in the Polonnaruwa City. Scholars have dated back this complex to the 8-9 centuries A.D.
Menik Vehera (Polonnaruwa) M enik Vehera (lit: The gem temple ; Sinhala: මැණික් වෙහෙර) is a ruined Buddhist monastic complex in the Ancient City of Polonnaruwa , Sri Lanka. It is located between the ruins of Siva Devale A and Siva Devale No.7 . History The history of this complex is not known (Abeysinghe, 1998). During archaeological excavations, some gems ( Menik ) were discovered at the premises and after that, this site was begun to known as Menik Vehera (Abeysinghe, 1998). Depending on its architectural features, scholars have dated back this complex to the 8-9 centuries A.D. The monastic structures indicate at least two stages of development belonging to the 8-9 century A.D. and the 12-13 century A.D. As some medical equipment was found at the site, it is assumed that this monastery complex may have functioned as a hospital with practitioner monks (De Thabrew, 2013). The Temple Complex The temple is situated outside the city's Northern gate and has been built on a terraced layout (Wikramagamage, 2004). The topmos…
