Ancient City of Panduwasnuwara Panduwasnuwara Archaeological Site (Sinhala: පඬුවස්නුවර පුරාවිද්යා ස්ථානය) is situated in Kottambapitiya in Kurunegala District, Sri Lanka. It was known in the past as Nuwara-kele (the forest of the city) and Agala-kele Mukalana (the forest of the moat) but with the rapid opening up of the area, these names have been forgotten (Devendra, 1956). Presently, Panduwasnuwara is one of the popular tourist sites in the country with a large number of ancient monuments dating from the Polonnaruwa Period . History Although this area is presently called Panduwasnuwara, it has been identified as ancient Parakramapura, the capital of the principality of Dakkhinadesa, founded by King Parakramabahu I (1153-1186 A.D.) when he was a sub-king of this territory (Devendra, 1956; Nicholas, 1963; Prematilleka, 1990). Prince Parakramabahu I who ascended the throne of Dakkhinadesa following the death of Kitti Sri Megha in 1140, improved the infrastructure of this city as well as its military power. After a pro…
