The Ibbankatuwa

Megalithic Tomb A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

s ( Sinhala: ඉබ්බන්කටුව මෙගාලිතික සුසාන) is an ancient burial site located near Ibbankatuwa Wewa in Galewela DS,

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 ...

. The site is thought to belong to the megalithic prehistoric and protohistoric periods of Sri Lanka and is considered one of the several ancient burial sites that have been found in the country. The site is situated on the

Kurunegala Kurunegala ( si, කුරුණෑගල, ta, குருணாகல்) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of the North Western Province and the Kurunegala District. Kurunegala was an ancient royal capital for 50 years, fr ...

Dambulla Dambulla ( si, දඹුල්ල ''Dam̆bulla'', ta, தம்புள்ளை ''Tampuḷḷai'') is a town situated in the north of Matale District, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It is the second largest populated and urbanised centre aft ...

road approximately five kilometers southwest of

town. Currently, the tomb site has been designated an archaeological protected site in Sri Lanka.

Discovery and excavation

The

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

period of Sri Lanka ranges from 250,000 – 1,000 BC. The transition period between the end of the prehistoric period and the commencement of the historic period is known as the

protohistoric Protohistory is a period between prehistory and history during which a culture or civilization has not yet developed writing, but other cultures have already noted the existence of those pre-literate groups in their own writings. For example, in ...

period. The Ibbankatuwa tomb site was first identified in 1970 by the Archaeological Department.

Radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was dev ...

carried out on remains found at the site have revealed that these tombs date back to 700 – 400 B.C. Subsequently, a number of archaeological excavations were carried out in 1983–1984 and again between 1988 and 1990.

Ancient Settlement

The ancient Ibbankatuwa settlement is located about southwest of the Dambulu Oya river and approximately east of the eastern edge of the cemetery. The site is approximately in size. The first excavation was done in 1988 and then in 1989, 1990 and 1991.

Tombs

The tomb complex covers an area of about with 42 clusters of tombs and each cluster contains about 10 tombs. Each tomb is enclosed with four stone slabs and covered by another slab on top. According to the way of interment two distinct burial customs,

urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...

(bodies were placed in urns and interred) and

cist A cist ( or ; also kist ; from grc-gre, κίστη, Middle Welsh ''Kist'' or Germanic ''Kiste'') is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found across Europe and in the Middle East ...

(ashes of deceased were interred) have been identified. Cremated remains along with grave goods and tools used by deceased, have been found at the site in large terra-cotta urns and cists as well as in the area between the cists. The finds include variety of clay pots, iron, copper and gold artifacts, beads, necklaces, etc. The gemstones found in some necklaces are not naturally found in Sri Lanka which indicates that they may have been imported.

References

External links

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Sri Lanka Telecom Pura Varuna - Ibbankatuwa Megalithic Cemetery
{{Refend Megalithic monuments in Sri Lanka Buildings and structures in Matale District Tourist attractions in Central Province, Sri Lanka Prehistoric Sri Lanka Archaeological protected monuments in Matale District Dambulla