Thiruketheeswaram Old Survey Tower near Paalavi Tank, Mannar, is a British-era triangulation tower used for 19th-century island surveys.
Thiruketheeswaram Old Survey Tower T hiruketheeswaram Old Survey Tower (Sinhala: තිරුකෙතීශ්වරම් පැරණි මිනුම් කුළුණ) is a colonial-era survey tower located on the wayside of Thiruketheeswaram Kovil Road near Paalavi Tank in the Ancient Mahatittha Port Site in Mannar District, Sri Lanka. History The Department of Survey of Sri Lanka (or the Department of the Surveyor General) is considered the oldest unchanged government department in the country. It was established by the British on 2 August 1800 (Vithana, 2006). Under the Surveyor General W. D. Gosset (1855-1858), the establishment of control for surveys on the island commenced with the base measurements in 1857 for Principal Triangulation and several survey towers were used across the country for this process (Dias et al., 2016). The tower presently standing near the Paalavi Tank is believed to be one of the towers used by the British for surveying purposes. You may want to read this post: Old Survey Towers in Sri Lanka The Tower The square-shaped tower, made of coral and bri…
