Beli-lena Beli-lena (Sinhala:බෙලිලෙන; Tamil: பெலிலென) is a large (ca. 30x15 m) prehistoric cave situated in Kitulgala in Kegalle District, Sri Lanka. It is considered one of the most important prehistoric sites in the country, with evidence
of human presence dating back to over 31,000 years B.P. (Kourampas et al., 2009). However, evidence that confirms the presence of humans as early as ca. 45,000 cal. BP. has been found in recent studies (Wedage et al., 2020). A few Buddhist structures of the 20th century are also found in the shade of the cave (Kourampas et al., 2009). The location Beli-lena cave is situated in the island’s lowland Wet Zone with mean annual
precipitation between 2500 and 3500 mm (Kourampas et al., 2009; Wedage et al., 2020). Excavations & findings The cave was first investigated in 1960-1961 by P.E.P. Deraniyagala and the excavations done by him revealed historic
and prehistoric archaeological materials (Wedage et al., 2020). Systematic excavations were commenced at the site i…
