Logo of the Maritime Archaeology Museum – Galle
lakshmi | Thursday, March 4th, 2010 | No Comments »
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”.
The symbol itself comprises of two components. The helm of the mast is adorned with the nandipada or taurine, which is a popular auspicious symbol associated with early historic sculpture and coins. The ship with the single or double mast represents the type of vessels that traversed the sea lanes connecting Sri Lanka with the delta of the Ganges River. Such symbols are found on the Satavahana bilingual coins and as post firing graffiti from several Early Historic coastal sites extending all the way from ancient Mahagama of South Sri Lanka to Kalinga and Tampralipti in East India.
The term Barata (and Bata) recorded in the pre-Christian inscriptions of Sri Lanka, also known in the Sangam texts of South India as Paratavar, are identified with the seafaring community who exploited marine resources in the littoral of South India. During the Early Historic period they developed an affluent merchant group who carried out a thriving luxury trade between Sri Lanka and South India and are also known to be intermediaries connecting Sri Lanka with the Mediterranean trade. Inscriptions record that certain members of the Barata entered the order of monks and became specialists in the doctrinal aspects of Buddhism.
The ship essentially symbolizes the self identity of Asian communities who engaged in long distance sailing as an inherent cultural characteristic and economic endeavor. The ship with the single mast therefore is the most appropriate logo for the Maritime Archaeology Museum as it unfolds the rich experience of trans-oceanic connectivity having a long antiquity that enriched the multi cultural ethos of Sri Lanka.
