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Tunneled history of Kotte Kingdom By Arundathie Abeysinghe   Secret passageways were a common characteristic of ancient Sri Lankan Royal architecture which served as pathways to escape from a kingdom during an enemy invasion. There had been numerous such passageways used by Royalty centuries ago in different parts of Sri Lanka…  The Archaeological Department recently commenced excavations of the ancient tunnel situated at Kotte Ananda Sastralaya (a public boys school located in *Kotte, Sri Lanka), a project sponsored by the Municipal Council of Kotte. Yet, this secret tunnel is not properly preserved. According to scholars, Kotte tunnel has had several exits with one exit at the present Kotte Raja Maha Viharaya, a temple built by King Parakramabahu VI during his reign (1415-1467) situated in close proximity to his palace. Kotte Raja Maha Viharaya has been a significant temple among the historical places in the ancient Kingdom of Kotte and has ...