Not to be confused with Tissa Wewa, (Tissamaharama)
Tissa Wewa (Sinhala: අනුරාධපුර තිසා වැව) is a reservoir situated in Anuradhapura District, Sri Lanka.
History
This has been identified as the ancient "Tissa-vapi" tank constructed by King Devanampiya Tissa [(247-207 B.C.) Arumugam, 1969; Nicholas, 1963]. King Dhatusena (455-473 A.D.) built Kala Wewa and conducted water from it to Tissa Wewa through an artificial canal called Jaya Ganga [(present Yodha Ela) Nicholas, 1963]. Several regulations set out for the distribution of the water supply of Tissa Wewa to the paddy fields of Isurumuniya Viharaya and Ranmasu Uyana are found in the Vessagiriya slab inscription of King Mahinda IV [(956-972 A.D.) Nicholas, 1963; Ranawella, 2004].
The present tank was restored in 1889 (Arumugam, 1969).
The reservoir
Except the drainage from its own catchment area, the reservoir is fed by the water conveyance from Kala Wewa-Yodha Ela (Arumugam, 1969). The bund of the reservoir is about 1.75 miles long and the water is extending in an area of about 450 acres at its full supply level (Arumugam, 1969). It has two spills and two sluices (Arumugam, 1969).
Attribution
References
1) Arumugam, S., 1969. Water resources of Ceylon: its utilisation and development. Water Resources Board. p.320.
2) Nicholas, C. W., 1963. Historical topography of ancient and medieval Ceylon. Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, New Series (Vol VI). Special Number: Colombo. Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon Branch). p.149.
3) Ranawella, G.S., 2004. Inscription of Ceylon: Containing pillar inscriptions and slab inscriptions from 924 AD to 1017. Volume V, Part II. Department of Archaeology. pp.258-261.
Location Map
This page was last updated on 3 December 2022
