There are two Ancient Wells in Jetavanarama Monastery premises located in Anuradhapura District, Sri Lanka.
The wells are circular in shape and not much deep. The walls of them are
made out of bricks with short juts protruding outwards from the bottom
to top. A flight of stairs in each well facilitates one to descend to the bottom of the well and collect water by hand.
Well I: Of the two wells, the first one is called Yathuru Pokuna (lit: The Key Pond) as the design of it resembles the appearance of a key.
Well II: The second well which has a circular shape lies adjacent to the first well. It has been probably used to obtain water for the rituals of the adjacent Bodhighara shrine. As mentioned in Mahavamsa, this well could be the one built by King Aggabodhi II (608-618 A.D.) for the Bodhighara of Jetavanarama monastery. The ruins of such two wells have been found near Ruwanweliseya as well as near Mahapali Alms-hall (Wikramagamage, 2004).
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References
1) Wikramagamage, C., 2004. Heritage of Rajarata: Major natural, cultural,
and historic sites. Colombo. Central Bank of Sri Lanka. p.139.
Location Map
This page was last updated on 23 January 2022