The old structure popularly known as Keppetipola Fort (Sinhala: කැප්පටිපොල බලකොටුව) is situated in the middle of Keppetipola town near Welimada in Badulla District, Sri Lanka.
Historical background
Keppetipola was known during the British period as Wilsonthenna, Tikiyatenna or Palugama (Priyadarshani & Gunasena, 2017). It is said that Keppetipola Disawe (died: 1818) who was a prominent leader of the 1818 Uva rebellion, organized troops from this site against the British who annexed the Kandyan Kingdom, the last kingdom of Sri Lanka to the British throne in 1815 (Priyadarshani & Gunasena, 2017). However, this rebellion was defeated and Keppetipola Disawe along with several other leaders were found guilty of high treason and sentenced to death by the British. This structure is presently popular among the locals as the fort of Keppetipola Disawe (Priyadarshani & Gunasena, 2017).
Although people identify this structure as a fort, some consider it as a stable used by the British rulers (Priyadarshani & Gunasena, 2017).
A protected monument
The ancient Keppetipola Fortress situated in Keppetipola town in the Welimada Divisional Secretary’s Division is an archaeological protected monument, declared by a government Gazette notification published on 22 November 2002.
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Attribution
#) LankaPradeepa.com extends its gratitude to Lalith Kekulthotuwage for providing the necessary photographs required for this article. All the photos are published here with the permission of the author.
References
1) Priyadarshani, S.A.N.; Gunasena, I.P.P., 2017. Pauranika Sthana Ha Smaraka: Badulla Distrikkaya (In Sinhala). Department of Archaeology. ISBN: 955-9159-48-8. pp.35-36.
2) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. No: 1264. 22 November 2002.
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This page was last updated on 1 October 2023