Nawagala Viharaya Nawagala Raja Maha Viharaya Navagala Viharaya (Sinhala: නාවාගල රජ මහා විහාරය) is a Buddhist temple situated in Anuradhapura District, Sri Lanka. History This monastic complex is thought to have been built during the early Anuradhapura Period . As per the belief of the locals, this could be one of the 32 temples mentioned in the chronicle Mahavamsa that had been built by Queen Viharamahadevi (2nd century B.C.). The Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating carried out for two brick samples collected from the base of the lower perimeter wall and the exposed brickwork of the upper section of the dilapidated Nawagala Stupa have revealed that they belong to two periods; i) 130±165 A.D. and ii) 860±85 A.D. (Bailiff et al., 2013). The Stupa The Stupa at this site is probably the biggest one built in the hinterland of Anuradhapura and it was there in a state of ruins for a long time wholly grown with vegetation. The villagers found this ruined site in the 1940s in the middle of the paddy fi…
