Mahavilachchiya Wewa (Photo credit: Google street view)
Mahavilachchiya Wewa (Sinhala: මහවිලච්චිය වැව) is a reservoir situated in Mahawilachchiya in Anuradhapura District, Sri Lanka.
History
Although the local people link the history of Mahavilachchiya reservoir to Prince Saliya the son of King Dutugemunu (161-137 B.C.), the origin of this work has not been clearly identified. The Mayetti-vapi (also called Cayanti or Mayanti) built by King Vasabha (67-111 A.D.) and later improved by King Udaya II (887-898 A.D.) could be the present Mahavilachchiya Wewa (Arumugam, 1969; Nicholas, 1963).
The reservoir was restored in the 1955-1958 period (Arumugam, 1969).
The reservoir
The reservoir has been built by damming the waters of Talawe Oya (Arumugam, 1969). The bund of it is about 1.5 miles long and the water is extending in an area of about 2,400 acres at its full supply level (Arumugam, 1969). It has one spill and two sluices (Arumugam, 1969).
References
1) Arumugam, S., 1969. Water resources of Ceylon: its utilisation and development. Water Resources Board. p.336.
2) Nicholas, C. W., 1963. Historical topography of ancient and medieval Ceylon. Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, New Series (Vol VI). Special Number: Colombo. Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon Branch). p.153.
Location Map
This page was last updated on 3 June 2022
For a complete tourist map follow this link: Lankapradeepa Tourist Map
For a complete tourist map follow this link: Lankapradeepa Tourist Map