The Jethavanarama Museum (Sinhala: ජේතවනාරාම කෞතුකාගාරය), Sri Lanka is one of the Museums Administered by the Central Cultural Fund. It is located in close proximity to the colossal Jetavanarama Stupa.
History
The museum has been established in a two-storied building erected in 1937, during the period of the British colonial administration [(1815-1948 A.D.) Senanayaka, 2020]. As mentioned in a plaque fixed on the outer wall of the building, it has been designed by S.H. Peiris of the Billimoria & De Silva firm, Colombo and was constructed by Arthur S. Fernando & Bros (Senanayaka, 2020). In the beginning, it housed the Office of the Anuradhapura Urban Council and later the Anuradhapura Preservation Board.
Presently the building houses the site museum of the Jetavana Monastery and the Jethavana Project Office. The museum was opened to the public in 1995 as a result of the valuable efforts of Roland Silva and Hema Ratnayaka (Senanayaka, 2020).
Museum
The museum preserves a collection of items discovered at the Jetavanaya site and its vicinity (Rambukwella, 2014). Most of them, referred to as the Jetavana Treasure, were found buried at the foot of the northern and eastern frontispieces (Vahalkadas) and under the upper stone paved terrace of the Jetavana Stupa (Jayasuriya, 2016). Artefacts include local and foreign ceramic vessels, intaglio seals made of semi-precious stone and glass, Roman, Indian and other coins, more than 300,000 beads made of clay, glass, stone, crystal, agate, carnelian, ivory, bone, shell, gold and silver (Jayasuriya, 2016). Buddhist and Hindu bronzes, sculptured stones, inscriptions, bronze ware, metal objects, clay items, paintings and other monumental remains are also displayed at the museum.
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References
1) Jayasuriya, E., 2016. A guide to the Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka. Central Cultural Fund. ISBN: 978-955-613-312-7. pp.39-40.
2) Rambukwella, M.W.C.N.K., 2014. Heritage representation in culturally diverse societies: a case study of the Colombo National Museum in Sri Lanka (Doctoral dissertation, School of Museum Studies). pp.419-420.
3) Senanayaka, P., 2020. Jetavana Kauthukagaraya (In Sinhala). Central Cultural Fund. ISBN: 978-955-613-415-5. pp.5-6.
2) Rambukwella, M.W.C.N.K., 2014. Heritage representation in culturally diverse societies: a case study of the Colombo National Museum in Sri Lanka (Doctoral dissertation, School of Museum Studies). pp.419-420.
3) Senanayaka, P., 2020. Jetavana Kauthukagaraya (In Sinhala). Central Cultural Fund. ISBN: 978-955-613-415-5. pp.5-6.
Location Map
This page was last updated on 5 November 2022