Thekkama Amuna Anicut (Photo credit: Jaffna Biz, Google Street View)
Thekkama Amuna (Sinhala: තේක්කම අමුණ; Tamil: Thekkam Anicut) is an ancient diversion anicut in Mannar District, Sri Lanka. Located about 800 m south of the 26th-mile post on Medawachchiya-Mannar road, it has been constructed by building up a permanent dam on a natural rock plain in Malwathu Oya.
History
Thekkama Amuna is believed to have been built during the Anuradhapura Period (Asanga &
Nishantha, 2018). The chronicle Mahavamsa states that a channel (present Yodha Ela) was made to bring the water to Yodha Wewa by King Dhatusena (455-473 A.D.) by damming the river Kadamba Nadi [(present Malwathu Oya) Asanga &
Nishantha, 2018]. This ancient dam was renovated during the Polonnaruwa Period and finally during the British Period [(1815-1948 A.D.) Asanga &
Nishantha, 2018].
The anicut
The Malwathu Oya has been dammed by this anicut about 22 miles from its mouth to divert the river water to Yodha Wewa
and to the Akathimurrippu Scheme (Arumugam, 1969). It is a massive
structure about 4.3 m high 200 m long and 4.8 m wide (Asanga &
Nishantha, 2018).
A protected monument
The anicut (Amuna) at Thekkama in the Grama Niladhari Division of Thekkama in Madhu Divisional Secretary’s
Division is an archaeological protected monument, declared by a government Gazette notification published on 23 February 2007.
.
See also
#) Angamedilla Amuna
References
1) Arumugam, S., 1969. Water resources of Ceylon: its utilisation and development. Water Resources Board. p.331.
2) Asanga, M. V. G. K.; Nishantha, I. P. S., 2018. Mannarama Distrikkaya (In Sinhala). Department of Archaeology (Sri Lanka). ISBN: 978-955-7457-10-9. pp.31-32.
3) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka: Extraordinary. No: 1823/73. 16 August 2013. p.7A.
2) Asanga, M. V. G. K.; Nishantha, I. P. S., 2018. Mannarama Distrikkaya (In Sinhala). Department of Archaeology (Sri Lanka). ISBN: 978-955-7457-10-9. pp.31-32.
3) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka: Extraordinary. No: 1823/73. 16 August 2013. p.7A.
Location Map
This page was last updated on 1 January 2023
