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 ...
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A quiet moment at Maligawila-BY MAHIL WIJESINGHE Source:Sundayobserver I had a long cherished ambition to photograph the massive standing Buddha statue of Maligawila, one day. That day finally dawned on January 15, 2008, a day before the gruesome LTTE bomb attack that took many innocent lives in the Maligawila, Okkampitiya and Niyadella villages. The day before the bomb exploded, I travelled along the same road and saw women bathing in the Kumbukkan Oya. Some people stood at the bus halt for the bus to take them to their destinations. In Okkampitiya, villagers were seen selling vegetables at the village fair, gem merchants waited for the miners, and farmers rode bicycles loaded with goods. People carried on with their daily activities. It was an area of tranquil beauty with lush green paddy fields and tall kumbuk trees, spanning across the plains, providing the much needed shade. I was back at Maligawila ...
