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Department Of Archaeology (Sri Lanka)
The Department of Archaeology ('','' ) is a non-ministerial government department in Sri Lanka responsible for managing the archaeological heritage. History In 1868, seven years after the establishment of the Archaeological Survey of India, Governor Sir Hercules Robinson appointed the Committee on Ancient Architecture in Ceylon, to obtain information regarding the ancient architectural works of Ceylon. In 1871 Joseph Lawton was commissioned by the Committee to photograph the principal structures and ruins at Anuradhapura, Mihintale, Polonnaruwa and Sigirya. His photographs are used extensively in Smither's publication, ''Architectural Remains Anuradhapura, Ceylon: the Dugabas and Certain Other Ancient Ruined Structures''. Between 1873 and 1875, under the direction of Governor Sir William Gregory, a complete site survey of structural remains at Anuradhapura was undertaken. The work was carried out by James George Smither, the principal architect at the Public Works Departmen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, and southeast of the Arabian Sea; it is separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. Sri Lanka shares a maritime border with India and Maldives. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is its legislative capital, and Colombo is its largest city and financial centre. Sri Lanka has a population of around 22 million (2020) and is a multinational state, home to diverse cultures, languages, and ethnicities. The Sinhalese are the majority of the nation's population. The Tamils, who are a large minority group, have also played an influential role in the island's history. Other long established groups include the Moors, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Central Province, Sri Lanka
North Central Province ( si, උතුරු මැද පළාත ''Uturumæda Paḷāta'', ta, வட மத்திய மாகாணம் ''Wada Maththiya Mākāṇam'') is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of the country. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. The province is the largest by size, and second least populated in the country. The province consists of the districts of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, both of which were important ancient Sri Lankan kingdoms. The climate is semi-arid, and the forests are dry evergreen forests. History The centralised system of Sri Lanka, which is a unitary state, failed to satisfy the aspirations of the people. There was growing insistence on decentralisation of administrative processes to achieve rapid economic and social development of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albert Longhurst
Albert Henry Longhurst (1876 – 1955) was a British archaeologist and art historian, working in India and Ceylon. Albert Henry Longhurst was born in Great Bookham, Surrey, England in 1876, the third of seven children (second son) to David Longhurst and Mary née Ranger. Longhurst was the brother-in-law of Sir John Marshall, the Director-General of the Archaeology Survey of India (1902-1928). In October 1913 he was appointed the Superintendent of the Southern Circle, Archaeological Survey of India. From 1927 to 1931 he was in charge of the systematic digging of Nagarjunakonda.Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 72, Issue 2–3 June 1940 , pp. 226-22/ref> Longhurst served as the Archaeological Commissioner, Department of Archaeology (Sri Lanka), Archaeological Survey of Ceylon between 1934 and 1940, mainly working at Polonnaruwa but also at Anuradhapura and Sigiriya Sigiriya or Sinhagiri (''Lion Rock'' si, සීගිරිය, ta, சிகிரிய� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo metropolitan area has a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 in the Municipality. It is the financial centre of the island and a tourist destination. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to the Greater Colombo area which includes Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, the legislative capital of Sri Lanka, and Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. Colombo is often referred to as the capital since Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is itself within the urban/suburban area of Colombo. It is also the administrative capital of the Western Province and the district capital of Colombo District. Colombo is a busy and vibrant city with a mixture of modern life, colonial buildings and monuments. Due to its large harbour and its strategic position along ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ooty
Ooty (), officially known as Udhagamandalam (also known as Ootacamund (); abbreviated as Udhagai), is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north west of Coimbatore and south of Mysore and is the headquarters of the Nilgiris district. It is a popular hill station located in the Nilgiri Hills. It is popularly called the Queen of Hill Stations. It was the summer capital of the Madras Presidency. Originally occupied by the Toda people, the area came under the rule of the East India Company at the end of the 18th century. The economy is based on tourism and agriculture, along with the manufacture of medicines and photographic film. The town is connected by the Nilgiri Ghat Roads, Nilgiri ghat roads and Nilgiri Mountain Railway. Its natural environment attracts tourists and it is a popular summer destination. In 2011, the town had a population of 88,430. Ootacamund was rated the best hill station in means of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Senarath Paranavithana
Senarath Paranavitana ( Sinhala:සෙනරත් පරණවිතාන) (26 December 1896 – 4 October 1972) was a pioneering archeologist and epigraphist of Sri Lanka. His works dominated Sri Lankan archaeology and history in the middle-part of the 20th century. He became the Archeological Commissioner in 1940, following H. C. P. Bell, and Don Martino de Zilva Wickremasinghe in that position. Life Paranavitana was born on 26 December 1896 at Metaramba, Galle, and had his early education at the Metaramba Government School. He later entered Buona Vista College in Galle. He studied Oriental languages at Ranweligoda Pirivena in Heenatigala and was a school teacher at the Udugampola Government School. Paranavitana joined the Department of Archaeology in 1923. He married in 1930. Paranavitana received his Ph.D. degree in 1936 from the University of Leiden and was appointed Archaeological Commissioner on 1 October 1940 in which capacity he served diligently till De ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Maurice Hocart
Arthur Maurice Hocart (26 April 1883, in Etterbeek, Belgium – 9 March 1939, in Cairo, Egypt) was an anthropologist best known for his eccentric and often far-seeing works on Polynesia, Melanesia, and Sri Lanka. Early life Hocart's family had resided for several hundred years in Guernsey (one of the Channel Islands between France and England) but are traceable to Domrémy-la-Pucelle, birthplace of Joan of Arc. Both his father, James and grandfather, also James, were Protestant missionaries in Switzerland, France and Belgium. Although Arthur was born in Etterbeek, near Brussels, he maintained his British nationality, as did the rest of his family. This juxtaposition between the English and Francophone worlds captures not only Hocart's education, but his status as an outsider to British academia. His work often seemed to predict developments in French anthropology, such as structuralism. From England to the South Seas After attending school at Elizabeth College, Guernsey, Hocar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighting occurring throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died in genocides within the Ottoman Empire and in the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war. Prior to 1914, the European great powers were divided between the Triple Entente (comprising France, Russia, and Britain) and the Triple Alliance (containing Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy). Tensions in the Balkans came to a head on 28 June 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tissamaharama
Tissamaharama ( si, තිස්සමහාරාමය , ta, திஸ்ஸமஹாராம) is a town in Hambantota District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka. History It was the capital of the Sinhalese Kingdom of Ruhuna as early as the 3rd century B.C. Few buildings from that period survived. The presence of early Tamils in Tissamaharama was confirmed following archaeological excavations in 2010. The Tissamaharama Tamil Brahmi inscription, a fragment of black and red ware flat dish inscribed in Tamil in the Tamil Brahmi script was excavated at the earliest layer in the town. The large, artificial Tissa Wewa lake, which was a part of an irrigation system, dates from that time. The five main nearby lakes are Tissa Wewa; Yoda Wewa; Weerawila Wewa; Pannegamuwa Wewa; and Debarawewa Wewa. The town mainly serves as a starting point for visits to Yala National Park and Kataragama. Archaeology The archaeological excavations brought to light earliest urban phase in the 4th c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tissa Wewa (Tissamaharama)
Tissa Wewa is a reservoir in Tissamaharama, thought to have been constructed in the 3rd Century BC, either by Mahanaga of Ruhuna or his successor Yatala Tissa of Ruhuna, in order to irrigate paddy lands and supply water to the flourishing city of Tissamaharama Tissamaharama ( si, තිස්සමහාරාමය , ta, திஸ்ஸமஹாராம) is a town in Hambantota District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka. History It was the capital of the Sinhalese Kingdom of Ruhuna as early as the 3 .... The lake was restored in 1871. The embankment (or bund) on the southern shore supports the Tissa-Kataragama road (B464), which is lined by old Indian rain trees planted by the British to provide shade.''The Rough Guide to Sri Lanka'', Gavin Thomas, Rough Guides, 2012, p. 185. References {{SriLanka-geo-stub Reservoirs in Sri Lanka Bodies of water of Hambantota District Lakes of Sri Lanka ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward R
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Saxon England, but the rule of the Norman and Plantagenet dynasties had effectively ended its use amongst the upper classes. The popularity of the name was revived when Henry III named his firstborn son, the future Edward I, as part of his efforts to promote a cult around Edward the Confessor, for whom Henry had a deep admiration. Variant forms The name has been adopted in the Iberian peninsula since the 15th century, due to Edward, King of Portugal, whose mother was English. The Spanish/Portuguese forms of the name are Eduardo and Duarte. Other variant forms include French Édouard, Italian Edoardo and Odoardo, German, Dutch, Czech and Romanian Eduard and Scandinavian Edvard. Short forms include Ed, Eddy, Eddie, Ted, Teddy and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Still (author)
John Still (1880–1941) was a British archaeologist and author, known for his discoveries at Sigiriya and his book "The Jungle Tide". Biography Still was born in 1880 in Lambeth, England, the only son of Canon John Still (1845–1914) (Canon of Norwich, Rector of Hethersett, and Vicar of Ketteringham) and Anna Elizabeth, née Nihill (1853–1894). He was educated at Winchester College. Still emigrated to British Ceylon in 1897, where he worked as a tea planter near Dickoya. In 1911 he was appointed as an assistant to Norman Rowsell of the Ceylon Labour Commission and he was also a Secretary of the Ceylon Planters Society. He also became an Archaeological Surveyor and Assistant Archaeological Commissioner (1 January 1902–31 December 1907) in the Department of Archaeology, under the supervision of H. C. P. Bell. Still is associated with the discoveries at Sigiriya in which he played an active role. He also discovered the ruins of the Lotus Bath at Pol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
