Allai Copper Plate Grant

Allai Copper Plate Grant

N eelapola Vihara Copper Plate Grant , also known as Allai Copper Plate Grant (Sinhala: අල්ලෙයි නීලපොල විහාරය තඹ සන්නස), is a copper-plate charter discovered at Neelapola Raja Maha Viharaya near Allai in Trincomalee District, Sri Lanka. This artefact is considered the second oldest copper-plate charter so far discovered in the country (Fernando, 1978). This artefact is presently preserved in the Polonnaruwa Museum . Discovery The plates were discovered in or about 1963 by a resident in the village of Allai near Seruwila while digging the earth near the remains of some ancient buildings (Fernando, 1978). They were brought to the notice of P.E.E. Fernando in July 1968 by a Buddhist monk named Matale Sumana Thera of Neelapola Raja Maha Viharaya (Fernando, 1978). The Copper Plates The charter is inscribed on five copper plates measuring 8.5 inches in length and 3 inches in width (Ranawella, 2007). The obverse of the first plate is inscribed with the figures of the moon (on the left side) and th…