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Girandurukotte Archaeological Site |
Girandurukotte Archaeological Site (Sinhala: ගිරාඳුරුකෝට්ටේ පුරාවිද්යා ස්ථානය) is situated near Girandurukotte Central Collage in Badulla District, Sri Lanka.
History
The site consists of the remains of a small ancient Buddhist temple complex. Although there is no firm evidence to prove, locals believe that this location was one of the places where Prince Dutugemunu (reigned: 161-137 B.C.) of Anuradhapura assembled his armies before the great battle against the South Indian ruler Elara (205-161 B.C.). According to some, the palace of King Udaya III (935-938 A.D.) of Anuradhapura was located at this place (Priyadarshani & Gunasena, 2017).
However, scholars are in the opinion that this is an ancient panchawasa temple complex comprising five main components; a Stupa, a shrine room, a Bodhigara, a gathering hall and a preaching hall. Of these five main structures, the Stupa is built on a square-platform enclosed by a brick wall. The platform can be reached through three brick steps on one side, flanked by a pair of carved Korawak Gal depicting the mythical Makara figures. The sides of the Korawak Gal are adorned with a lion figure and at the foot of the stairs lies a simply carved Sandakada Pahana. Rainwater collected on the platform is drained through the mouths of stone-carved Makara figures fixed on to the brick wall.
A Protected Site
The ancient Stupa, brick pathway wall, three buildings with stone pillars and an ancient gate located adjacent to the Girandurukotte School premises situated in the Grama Niladhari Division No. 01-F–Girandurukotte, in Mahiayangana Divisional Secretary’s Division are archaeological protected monuments, declared by a government gazette notification published on 6 June 2008.
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References
Books, Government Gazette Notifications
1) Priyadarshani, S. A. N.; Gunasena, I. P. P., 2017. Pauranika Sthana Saha Smaraka: Badulla Distrikkaya (In Sinhala). Department of Archaeology (Sri Lanka). ISBN: 955-9159-48-8. pp.8-9.
2) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. No: 1553. 6 June 2008.
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Attribution
To Whom
LankaPradeepa.com extends its gratitude to Malsha M. Ranasinghe for providing the necessary photographs required for this article. All the photos are published here with the permission of the author.