Glimpse of History from ANCL Archives

Anuradhapura - an ancient seat of governance

by Indeewara Thilakarathne

Anuradhapura was one of the greatest cities and was once a flourishing civilization. Anuradhapura is now famous for its well-preserved ruins and as a UNESCO designated world heritage site.

Founded in the 4th century BC, Anuradhapura was the capital till the beginning of the 11th century AC.

During this period the city of Anuradhapura had been a prosperous city and a most stable seat of governance and urban life in South Asia. It was a wealthy and prosperous city that created a unique culture and civilization.

Today, the city remains as a major archaeological site and a sacred city for thousands of Buddhists world over with ruins of monasteries stretching over an area of forty square kilometres. It is also a place where eight major places of worship are situated.

The ruins are made up of three classes of buildings, dagobas, monastic buildings, and pokunas. The dagobas are bell-shaped masses of masonry, varying from a few feet to over 1100 ft (340 m) in circumference.

Some of them contain enough masonry to build a town for twenty-five thousand inhabitants. Remains of the monastic buildings are to be found in every direction in the shape of raised stone platforms, foundations and stone pillars.

The most famous is the Brazen Palace erected by King Dutugamunu around 164 BC. The pokunas are bathing-tanks or tanks for the supply of drinking water, which are scattered everywhere through the jungle.

The city also contains a sacred bo-tree, which is said to date back to the year 245 BC. The railway was extended from Kurunegala to Anuradhapura in 1905.

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