New excavations
reveal the life of the man-on-the-street in 3rd Century BC :
Citadel of the commoner
This new exploration project fulfils the vacuum of arhceological
knowledge of the role played by communities outside the city of
Anuradhapura, which Prishantha claims represents the first
multi-disciplinary attempt to model the development of an Early Historic
city in South Asia, and differs significantly from the majority of Early
Historic excavations and research projects in Sri Lanka which focused on
either urban forms or monastic sites
by Aditha Dissanayake


Dr. Prishantha Gunawardena, Head of the Department of Archaeology
believes it is important to rummage through the past even as the
country hovers on the brink of war. “Every society’s development
depends on studying the past. The progress of our county will depend
on how much of the past we know”.
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"You must be crazy" is the response you tend to meet with when
announcing an intention to visit the North these days. But for the
courageous, willing to overlook the backdrop of simmering warfare, the
North-Central region of the country continues to offer astonishing
rewards.
Explosions. News of air raids. Warnings saying not to go, do not
deter them.
Two weeks after the incident at Kabbethigollawa, in spite of being
warned to stay away from the A9, Prof. Robin Coningham from the
University of Durham, UK and Dr. Prishantha Gunawardhana, Head of the
Department of Archaeology, University of Kelaniya, with their team of
archaeologists were in Anuradhapura, in search of the ever elusive past;
to dig deep, this time, not into the controversies and tableax
surrounding kings, queens and their kinsmen but to discover how you and
I, the proletariat, would have lived had we been born in 3rd Century BC.
Working in collaboration with several foreign universities, the
project aims to fill the vacuum when it comes to knowing the life and
times of the ordinary man on the street, when Anuradhapura was the
capital of the country.
In archaeology jargon, the "sample universe" is a 50km circle centred
within the Citadel of Anuradhapura and includes rocky outcrops, ridges,
streams, rivers, grasslands and paddyfields. Ten archaeologists walking
in a line parallel to the Malwatu Oya have already identified possible
settlements and roads that linked the city with the coast.
Grateful to the villagers living along the river, Prishantha says
"They gave us their fullest cooperation, allowed us to dig their gardens
and often showed us places we did not know of, leading us to discover
valuable artifacts".
Dismissing the accusation that foreigners cause more harm than good
when they come to third world countries on archaeological expeditions (i.e
the abandoned excavation site in Kirinda- a legacy from a group of
German archaeologists) as a false statement Prishantha says there is no
clause in the Act on Archaeology which says foreign assistance should
not be sought when conducting archaeological surveys.
"Moreover there is tremendous benefit to us when we collaborate with
foreign universities". He adds. " The students get the chance to get
exposed to new technology. The staff is given the opportunity to study
in prestigious foreign universities, their articles are published in
international journals, in short the development of the staff is
tremendous due to this liaison with British and Indian universities".
He also sees this as the best way out when it comes to finding the
much needed capital necessary to fund the excavations. "This is the only
way out for us, living in a developing country, with meagre funds for
excavation projects. This is the only way we can keep abreast with the
rest of the world".
Even though the work of archaeologists was once described by a famous
Sri Lankan writer as talking about a man's wife, the wife's family, his
brother, his children etc by looking at the imprint of his foot on the
sand it's hard not to believe Prishantha when he shows a bead, a piece
of pottery and says the lives of those who lived within a 50Km radius of
the Citadel of Anuradhapura were similar to the simple life of the
villagers of today.
"They laboured hard to eke out a living making pots and metal
equipment which they transported to the city of Anuradhapura to be
purchased by the affluent" says Prishantha.
The findings so far include the recording of one potter's village,
four villages of blacksmiths, burial sites, stone bridges etc, while
other hinterland activities discovered by the archaeologists include
hunting, brickmaking, logging and fishing.
In spite of the present situation, Dr. P and his team are planning to
return to their excavations in the near future. Rejoicing in the
artifacts discovered so far, he is glad he and his team ignored the
naysayers and ventured on this mission; the sights discovered are balm
to every archaeologist's soul.
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The UNESCO World Heritage site of Anuradhapura is one of Asia's major
archaeological and pilgrimage centres. The walled core of the city,
measured 100 hectares was surrounded by a 25 square kilometre spread of
monasteries.
The Sri Lankan capital for 1500 years, its kings constructed 100m
high brick stupas and three vast reservoirs. Although located in the
centre of the island, the city attracted pilgrims from across South and
East Asia and also functioned as a hub for Indian Ocean trades as
indicated by evidence of Greco-Roman glass, metalwork, early islamic
glass and glazed ceramics etc.
The city and the hinterland are generally believed to have been
abandoned at the end of the first millennium AD due to pressure from the
expansionist kingdoms of South India.
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