The Thawalama Batahena Ambalama (Sinhala: තවලම බටහේන අම්බලම) is an old wayside rest situated in Thawalama in Galle District, Sri Lanka.
History
Ambalamas are traditional resting places built by locals to accommodate
wayfarers who were travelling to distant places. They were also used as a
place for people to gather, hold meetings and serve as a public place
in society. During the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, Ambalamas were
spread all over the country.
In the past, the Gin Ganga River was instrumental in transporting goods to Galle. Since the Thawalama Batahena Ambalama is located near the Gin Ganga River, it is possible that this Ambalama has been built for the people who transported goods through the river. According to the plaque inside, this Ambalama has been built in 1915 by Don Coraneris Wijesekera Weda-Arachchi with the assistance of the villagers.
Text: ශ්රී බුද්ධ වර්ෂ 2458 දුරුතු පුර පසලොස්වක් ගත් ගුරුදින මෙගම් හා අවට ගම්වාසීන්ගේ ආධාර ඇතිව මෙම අම්බලමේ වැඩ නිමවා වත්ත සහ තව පූජාකලේ දොන් කොරනේරිස් විජේසේකර වෙද ආරච්චි වන මා විසින්Translation: I, Don Coraneris Wijesekera Weda-Arachchi, with the assistance of villagers, completed the work of this Ambalama and bestowed it along with the land and other offerings in the Buddhist Year 2458 (1915 A.D.)
A protected monument
The Thawalama wayside shelter in Thawalama village in the Grama Niladhari Division No. 227 - A of Batahena in Thawalama Divisional Secretary’s Division is an archaeological protected monument, declared by a government notification published on 1 February 2023.
Attribution
#) LankaPradeepa.com extends its gratitude to Lalith Kekulthotuwage for providing the necessary photographs required for this article. All the photos are published here with the permission of the author.
References
1) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka: Extraordinary. No: 2317/57. 1 February 2023. p.8A.
Location Map
This page was last updated on 7 November 2023
