Chryshane Mendis | Sri Lanka Archaeology

Archaeological Sites around Dimbulagala: Part 01

Dimbulagala is a large isolated mountain situated in the North Central Province, east of Polonnaruwa. Its history dates back to the early historical period of Sri Lanka and was home to a Monastic complex during the Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa periods. Dimbulagala is presently most famous for the Dimbulagala Rajamaha Viharaya and its late chief incumbent the Ven. Sri Seelalankara Thero who had served the people of Dimbulagala for decades but was murdered in 1995 by the LTTE.

April 16, 2018 By Chryshane Mendis Archaeological Survey, Chryshane Mendis, Exploration, History Dimbulagala, Mara Vidiya, Namal Pokuna, Pandukabaya, Sundera Maha Devi 0 Comments

Archaeological Milestones in Sri Lanka: Part 01

By Chryshane Mendis

Research into the field of Archaeology in Sri Lanka dates back to over 125 years, having being initiated by the British administration in the late 19th century. Archaeology as a professional discipline began in the early 19th century in Europe and as a result of our colonization by the British, the discipline found its way to the island from early on. Since then the archaeological field in Sri Lanka has been dominated first by the foreigners and […]

April 12, 2018 By Chryshane Mendis Ancient Technolog, Archaeological Survey, Epigraphy, Field Archaeology inscriptions, J. Pole, Mahawamsa, Prehistory, Sri Lanka Archaeology, Stone tools, Turnour 0 Comments

Prehistory of Sri Lanka 7 : the Pleistocene flora and fauna of Ratnapura

At 65,610 km2 Sri Lanka is one of the large islands in the Indian Ocean and during the Pleistocene epoch studies have shown that the island was joined to the mainland of the Indian Subcontinent. Due to the cold temperatures of this epoch the scattered glaciers caused the water level to fall and thus much of the places under water today was land during this time. Due to the drop in sea levels Sri Lanka and India was combined […]

December 29, 2017 By Chryshane Mendis Prehistory Chandima Ambanwala, Kalum Nalinda Manadendarachchi, P. E. P. Deraniyagala, Pleistocene, Prehistory, Rathnapura, Sri Lanka 0 Comments

Kotte Heritage 4: Veherakanda

The historic 15th century Capital city of Kotte, founded as a fortress against the Arya Chakravarithi of Jaffna and made into a fortified city and administrative center by King Parakramabahu VI was the last Capital city to rule over a unified Sri Lanka until independence. Being the Capital, this city would have flourished with mansions of the royalty and nobility, great religious monuments of the Buddhist Viharas, dwellings of the common people and buildings of trade and commerce; the […]

December 19, 2017 By Chryshane Mendis Exploration, Field Archaeology, Heritage Management Baddegana, Kotte Heritage, ruins, Veherakanda 0 Comments

Untapped Archaeological Heritage: Muthugala

Muthugala, a quiet dry zone village situated in the Welikanda Divisional Secretariat in the Polonnaruwa District is a paradise of nature where man and wilderness live side by side. This untapped archaeological heritage of the ancient Sinhalese lies in the forests boardering the village and the Flood Plains National Park along the Mahaweli Ganga. To arrive here, one needs to arrive at Sewanapitiya junction which is 18km from Kanduruwela on the Batticaloa road and from there turn left on […]

September 27, 2017 By Chryshane Mendis Exploration, Field Archaeology Chryshane Mendis, Exploration, Mutugala, Polonnaruwa 0 Comments

An Archaeological Study on the Kaduruwela Fortress

The main objective was to create a scale drawing of the architectural feature identified from Satellite images using the data taken from a field survey of the area. The secondary objective being the proper identification of the site using the archaeological evidence from the excavations.

September 10, 2017 By Chryshane Mendis Excavation, Exploration, Field Archaeology Central Cultural Fund, Excavation, Exploration, Kaduruwela Fort, Priyantha Susil Kumara Marasinghe 0 Comments

The Gates of Kandy: An Archaeo-historical Perspective of Balana

The Balana pass, the key to the Kandyan Kingdom was a pass on the southern edge of the Alagalla Mountain range from which ran the old Colombo Kandy road giving access to the mountain kingdom. This was the most important pass in the Kingdom with the other being at Galagedara, as the road coming from the lower plains climbs over a thousand feet in less than a mile over the pass to the plateau of the central highlands. The […]

August 19, 2017 By Chryshane Mendis Field Archaeology, History Archaeological Survey, Balana, Chryshane Mendis, Fort, Gates of Kandy, Kandyan Kingdom 6 Comments

20th Century Historians: Rev. Fr. S G Perera

The student of the colonial history of Sri Lanka has undoubtedly come upon the name of S. G. Perera in their studies. Fr. S. G. Perera, a Catholic Priest of the Society of Jesus was an exemplary scholar of the last century and whose parallels are unheard of. Publishing over a dozen books and over 300 articles in journals, his contributions to the history of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and the history of the Portuguese, Dutch and […]

July 26, 2017 By Chryshane Mendis Bibliography, Historian Chryshane Mendis, Historian, Rev. Fr. S G Perera 0 Comments

The Fortress of Colombo: What else remains?

My research into the remains of the Fort of Colombo led me to identify 7 locations in total which all belongs to the Dutch built fort. The previous article dealt with my identification of 3 sections of the Dutch fort lying within the Navy Headquarters; that is the entire Dan Briel bastion, the Postern gate known as the Slave port and sections of the rampart from Dan Briel bastion to Amsterdam bastion. In this article I would discuss the […]

July 24, 2017 By Chryshane Mendis Colonial Heritage Chryshane Mendis, Colombo Fort, Colonial Heritage 6 Comments

Defiling Modern Warfare: The Dutch Castle of the North

Sri Lanka is home to several Dutch forts found throughout the island in varying size; much of the Dutch forts have survived the ages and some being in the mint condition such as the massive Galle Fort which is a World Heritage Site. Another interesting fort known to many is the Jaffna fort situated in the heart of the Jaffna town bordering the lagoon. Out of the other Dutch forts, the Jaffna fort is the most geometrically perfect, being […]

July 20, 2017 By Chryshane Mendis Colonial Heritage Chryshane Mendis, Dutch Castle, Jaffnapatam 3 Comments

Author - Chryshane Mendis