Susantha Goonatilake Phd The Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka (RASSL) and its members pioneered in the 19th and 20th centuries the study of Sri Lankan society, culture, history and archaeology. Through interaction between its Sri Lankan and Western members, the RASSL provided a platform for East-West discourse. Most of these pioneers read like a Who’s Who in these matters.

The first Maritime Archaeology Museum in Sri Lanka will be opened by Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksha – The President of Sri Lanka today(March 04, 2010) at Galle.

Photo credit: Ruwan Janapriya Click on image to see a large image.

The logo of the Maritime Archaeology Museum depicts a vessel with a single mast, which is an iconic representation engraved on a second or first century BC Brahmi cave inscription at Duvegala in the Polonnaruva District. The inscription reads, “cave of Sagrakita, the barata”.

Sudharshan Seneviratne Ph.D., FSLCA Director General. Central Cultural Fund Sri Lanka was peopled by periodic community intrusions and interactions since the Stone Age resulting in the introduction of a variety of ideas, technological traditions, dialects, and belief systems into this island.  The central location of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean Rim on the one hand and its centrality between two World systems to the West and the East of the Indian Ocean on the other, provides a unique representation of the world culture blended in the ethos of this island society. As a consequence, the cultural landscape of Sri Lanka also represents a habitat of multicultural and varied biological identities.

Epigraphy of the Sigiriya-Dambulla Region Raj Somadeva Introduction Scattered in the 446.6 squre miles which from the study area (Bandaranayake 1990 : 14) lie nearly 300 lithic records. The evidence from these inscriptions gives an insight in to the development of the society which created them and so they cannot be ignored in a study of the Settlement Archaeology of the area. These inscriptions have served as vehicles of mass media at the time of their creation. Since these inscriptions containing information on edicts, ideas, prasastis, donations, etc. remain unchanged, they are a ready and reliable source of information for the present archaeologists to reconstruct the social history of a people of the past.

Raj Somadeva Sri Lanka was one of prime attractions of the Indian Ocean sailors since the early first millennium BCE. This was due to several reasons and notable among them is Sri Lanka’s strategic geographical positioning in this mighty Sea. Sri Lanka was almost in the mid point of the sea routes which linked the South China Sea in the east with the Red Sea in the west at that time .

Prof. Raj Somadewa Sri lanka has a great tradition of written sources of historical information extending from about 250 BC until end of the kandyan regime in the second half of the 19 century AD. This significant tradition of literacy can be divided in two main parts.The most archaic part of this tradition represented by the inscriptions carved on mighty rock boulders and drip-ledges of the natural cave shelters which were used by the ascetic monks right after the advent of Buddhism in the latter half of the first millennium BC (Paranavithana 1970).

Arjuna Thantilage Phd Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology – Sri Lanka *This was first published in the Sirimal Lakdusinghe felicitation volume. I am privilege to write an article to this special volume dedicated to Mr. Sirinimal Lakdusinghe. I am even more privileged that I being able to write this article for this special volume dedicated to him since it discusses one of his valuable discovery on two Hindu images by art historical means, based on scientific evidences.

Arjuna Thantilage Phd Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology The history of use of metals in Sri Lanka is an area yet to be studied thoroughly and hence have very vague picture on the subject. But it has recently been shown that the copper metallurgy may have been played a very important role in our cultural formation process against the