The ruins of the Palace or Audience Hall of King Nissankamalla (Sinhala: නිස්සංකමල්ල රජ මාළිගය හෝ සභා ශාලාව) are located near the Council Chamber Building within the premises of Dipa Uyana in Polonnaruwa Ancient City, Sri Lanka.
History
This large building is believed to be either the palace or audience hall built by King Nissankamalla (1187-1196 A.D.). It is said that as Nissankamalla was reluctant to live in the Parakramabahu I's Palace, he built a separate palace for himself within 45 days (Wikramagamage, 2004).
The Building
Presently, only the foundation of the ground floor and some other parts of the original storied building remain (Wikramagamage, 2004). The building consists mainly of two sections and evidence is there to prove that its brick walls had been reinforced with wooden pillars in the past. The front section of the building was a large and spacious hall with a high roof. The rear section is smaller but comprises a room with an elevated platform and several chambers with seats made of stones or bricks. One room has been used as a lavatory as evidenced by the adjacent pit.
Excavations have revealed that the building belongs to several construction periods. It has been shown that there are remains of a small but more elegant building underneath the present structure.
Do you know?
#) Where are the other ancient royal palaces in Sri Lanka located?
References
1) Wikramagamage, C., 2004. Heritage of Rajarata: Major natural, cultural, and historic sites. Colombo. Central Bank of Sri Lanka. pp.201,205.
Attribution
1) LankaPradeepa.com would like to thank Mohan Lakshitha for providing the necessary photographs required for this article. All the photos are published here with the permission of the author.
