Archaeologists Find Evidence of Ancient Civilisation- By Udeni Saman Kumara
Image Source:Ceylontoday
Source:Ceylontoday
Following excavation work done in the Kandarodai area, also known as Kandurugoda, in the Jaffna Peninsula, it has come to light that a colony had existed in this country before 750 BC. This old colony had spread around 1 kilometre from the Kandurugoda Temple, which is situated close to Chunnakam town in the Jaffna Peninsula.
This particular excavation had been undertaken with the consent of the Department of Archaeology by the Non
-European Cultural Behavioural Institute situated in Bonn, Germany. This exercise has also been jointly supported by the Archaeological Studies Faculty of the University of Jaffna and the Archaeological and Heritage Studies Faculty of the University of Rajarata. The advice for the excavation work at the Kandurugoda Temple had been provided by ex-Deputy Director of the Department of Archaeology, Dr. Nimal Perera.
The ongoing excavation work at the said temple premises had been initiated during the 2022/23 period, while the results related to 14 carbon samples for tests in Germany have been received at the time of writing. As per the results, it has now been confirmed that a colony had existed in this particular area from 400 BC to 750 BC. It has been said that even before the advent of King Vijaya and the introduction of Buddhism to Ceylon, an old and rich civilisation had been in existence in the Jaffna Peninsula.
Hence, this discovery of the Kandurugoda colony could be added to the rich heritage of this land which encompasses the well-known colonies such as Kandyan and Anuradhapura Kingdoms which lasted for centuries.
Dr Nimal Perera
Dr Nimal Perera, who is helming this project, expressed his views. “This new colony had existed some 25 kilometres down the Harry Nayakpitti Road, having turned off from Chunnakam town in the Jaffna Peninsula. We believe this colony could have been of a 30-kilometre stretch. But, presently what we can see here is a modern-day civilisation or colony. Underneath it could be this country’s true history. This is also the first time that this particular history is being discovered by historians in this country.
The first such oldest colony that we find when turning back the pages of our historical annals is Ethulnuwara in Anuradhapura. Thereafter comes Akurugoda in Tissamaharama in the Southern Province. The third would be Kandurugoda in the Jaffna District. Another is the old trade harbour situated at Mathota and it is situated currently adjacent to the Thirukeshwaram Kovil in Mannar. The history of Sri Lanka’s colonies could be studied via these colonies.
The excavation work of Kandarodai dates back to 1917. It had been discovered by noted historian Paul E. Peiris who had worked at the time as a civil servant. It is said that while he was travelling on a train to Jaffna, he spotted Buddhist artefacts at Chunnakam. The artefacts that had been unearthed from excavation work have now been kept at the Archaeological Museum in Jaffna. Prof. Wimala Bradley of the Archaeological Faculty of the Pennsylvania University in the US had begun excavation work at Kandarodai in 1970.
It had been Prof. Wimala who had discovered details related to the existence of an old colony there. Prof. Indrapala of the University of Peradeniya too had submitted his report regarding the discovery of several artefacts from the excavations that had been done in Kandarodai. These are the first Sinhala letters that had been uncovered from this country and they too belong to the first Brahmi scriptures.
What we refer to as the present-day Kandurugoda Temple also belongs to this age-old colony. When noted historian Dr. Roland Silva was functioning as the DG of the Archaeological Department in 1978, around 58 small stupas had been preserved here and that particular area has been Gazetted as per the Archaeological Ordinance. Dr Silva had deemed that those artefacts belonged to the period 300 to 600 BC. However, during the country’s war period, the excavation work was halted. The stalled work had only been started in 2010. I was advised by the then DG of the Archaeological Department, Prof. Shiran Deraniyagala to restart the Kandarodai excavation work.
Thereafter, I decided to recommence the work which had been stopped by Prof. Bradley. We checked the period to which the artefacts that we found belonged. It was then that it dawned on us that the history of Kandurugoda extended up to the prehistoric period. The first such period we deemed could have been around 400 BC. After I retired four years ago, we decided to carry out further excavation. I had the feeling that this particular place could be filled with many artefacts from the pre-historic period. It is for that reason alone that my interest was kindled in it. Then I concluded that institutions which are far more advanced in technology should be invited to join this excavation process.
After we submitted project reports to the Archaeology Department and gained their approval, we then sought technical know-how from the institute in Germany and its Director Ariyani Sasek. Then we invited the Archaeological Faculty of the University of Jaffna as part of its resource personnel and among those involved were Prof. Krishna Raja and Prof. Pushparatnam. Further, the University of Rajarata and the Archaeology Department also joined our exercise. Among the officers who supported our endeavour were Prof. Nuwan Abeywardene of the University of Rajarata, Sampath Gurusinghe of the Archaeology Department and its Inspection Officer Jinaka Kariyawasam, along with Alfred de Mel who had worked for several years with Prof. Deraniyagala.
We found soil particles underground. Based on those findings, we were able to conclude, that those who had inhabited the Jaffna Peninsula are the descendants of the modern human species. The many items that were recovered bear testimony to it. The stone inscriptions that were discovered from Kandurugoda Temple were similar to those that were discovered from Kuruvita, Batadomba and the Pahiyangala scriptures of Bulathsinhala. This was also the first time artefacts of the human species had been discovered from the pre-historic period within the Jaffna Peninsula. Though the samples had been taken, the period of it has still not been determined. That is because the dating process has to be carried out via the OSL system. For that, the soil particles have been taken and they have been preserved.
Also, there is a question that has stumped us as to how a plant that grows in the wetlands or the Wet Zone has come to grow in the Jaffna Peninsula. We then also came across pots and pans made out of mud. During this period, animal husbandry also started. We found samples of horses, sheep and goats and there is strong evidence that these people had consumed meat in large quantities. This period we deemed to be 450 BC. During that period, an advanced history had existed. We must not forget that there is a modern colony here. We must thank the owners of these lands for allowing us to excavate a 20-perch land with a house. The owner of this house gladly allowed us to carry out this excavation work. Currently, only the land where the Kandurugoda Stupa is situated has been declared as an archaeological reservation. After the excavation work was completed, we filled up the area and handed it back to the land owner in its original state.”
Prof. Nuwan Abeywardene
Prof. Nuwan Abeywardene of the Rajarata University said, “After our university agreed to support the work of the institute in Germany, we have been involved in several tests. We also supported the excavation work at Kandarodai. Our labs and our equipment were utilised. We are also carrying out a programme aimed at training our students in this project. We had worked before with the institute in Germany. That was into an excavation of a glass manufacturing factory at Giribawa in the Wayamba Province. We joined the Kandarodai excavation this year. The importance of this excavation is this particular place had been deemed previously to have been 400 BC. But we were able to delve into a history that dates back to 700 BC.
This Kandurugoda colony in the Jaffna Peninsula could be compared to similar colonies that had been discovered from Ethulnuwara in Anuradhapura and Tissamaharama. It has been determined that this particular colony would have been active for centuries akin to that of the Anuradhapura Kingdom, after which it had been left to rack and ruin. This is also the first time such excavation work has been undertaken in the Northern Province concerning the pre-historic period. Presently, the Archaeological Department has declared only the area containing the Kandurugoda stupa as an archaeological reservation. However, it is clear from the proof available that this colony had spread around this entire area. This colony had lasted for thousands of years. If a drain is dug in this area, anyone could discover pebbles and similar items. We carried out inspections via the use of drone technology in this entire area. There is a mapping out process with the use of computers and we have already undertaken that task as well.”
