Sangilian Thoppu

Sangilian Thoppu/Sangiliyan Thoppu (also called Sangilian Facade, Cankilian Thoppu or Poothathamby Walaivu) is an old arch found in Nallur in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka. The arch is located on the Jaffna-Point Pedro road, about 950 m distance from Nallur Kandasamy Temple.

History

Mainly there are two opinions regarding the origin of this monument. As this monument is named after King Sangili/Sangilian (1619 A.D.), some believe that this arch could be a part of his palace (Dias et al., 2016). King Sangili is considered as the last king of the Jaffna Kingdom.

According to the other opinion suggested by some authors such as Dr. Kunarasa, this arch was a part of the headquarter of Poothathamby Mudaliyar, a Tamil administrator who lived during the Dutch period (Dias et al., 2016; Wijebandara, 2014). The arch is also known as Poothathamby Walaivu (arch) by the locals (Dias et al., 2016; Wijebandara, 2014).

Facade

The monument is in well preserved state. It has been made of brick and plastered with lime mortar (Dias et al., 2016). Presently a shelter has been erected over the facade.

A protected monument

The entrance of Sangili Thoppu Palace belonging to the village of Nallur in the Grama Niladhari Division of Sangiliyan Thoppu bearing No. J-109 in the Divisional Secretariat Division, Nallur is an archaeological protected monument, declared by a government Gazette notification published on 23 February 2007. 

Attribution

1) Cankili Thoppu by AntanO is licensed under CC BY SA 4.0

References

1) Dias, M.; Koralage, S.B.; Asanga, K., 2016. The archaeological heritage of Jaffna peninsula. Department of Archaeology. Colombo. p.208.
2) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. No: 1486. 23 February 2007. p.129.
3) Wijebandara, I.D.M., 2014. Yapanaye Aithihasika Urumaya (In Sinhala). Published by the editor. ISBN-978-955-9159-95-7. pp.112-114.

Location Map

This page was last updated on 10 January 2020
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