Siran Upendra Deraniyagala (1 March 1942 – 5 October 2021) was a Sri Lankan archaeologist and historian, who served as the Director-General of Archaeology in the Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka from 1992 to 2001. He also served as the President of the Sri Lanka Council of Archaeologists.

Early life

Siran Upendra Deraniyagala was born on 1 March 1942 in

Ratnapura Ratnapura (; ) ("City of Gems" in Sinhala and Tamil) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as the Ratnapura District, and is a traditional centre for the Sri Lankan gem trade. It is located ...

, the third of four sons of

Paulus Edward Pieris Deraniyagala Paulus Edward Pieris Deraniyagala (1900–1976) was a Sri Lankan paleontologist, zoologist, and artist. Early life and education He was born in Colombo, the son of Paul Edward Pieris and Lady Hilda Obeyesekere Pieris. He had two younger brothers, ...

(Director of the National Museum of Ceylon, 1939–1963) and Prini Molamure. His grandfather was Sir Deraniyagala Paulus Edward Pieris Samarasinghe Sriwardhana. Siran completed his school education at St. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia.

Career

He obtained a BA and MA in Architecture and Sanskrit at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

before completing a postgraduate diploma at the Institute of Archaeology,

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. At the institute, he qualified with distinction and was awarded the Gordon Childe Prize, as one of two best all-round students in all fields of archaeology. In 1968, he joined the Archaeological Survey Department of Sri Lanka as the Assistant Commissioner in charge of scientific excavations. He introduced research design, plans for infrastructure and human resource development in excavation division. In 1969, he oversaw the first excavation at the citadel of

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...

down to its earliest levels and his excavation efforts were also regarded as the first scientific stratified excavation process to have been undertaken in Sri Lanka. It also soon set a platform to emerging archaeologists in Sri Lanka. He outlined a revised age estimate for radio-carbon chronology of ancient Anuradhapura in a research paper which was presented at the 14th International Conference of the European Association of South Asian Archaeologists in 1997. Siran then focused on prehistoric explorations and excavations in ancient shore dunes (referred to as the Iranamadu Formation) dating back to more than 130,000 years ago. He used the resulting data to complete a PhD at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1988. He also carried out fieldwork overseas in countries such as Netherlands, India, France and England. In 1992, he was appointed the Director-General at the Department of Archaeology, a position he held until 2001. He had also published over 40 research articles, which have gone onto feature in some of the leading journals in the world. He had also held several high-profile key positions in the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Department of Archaeology. Furthermore, he also directed more than 20 national and international projects in Sri Lanka.

Death

He died on 5 October 2021, at the age of 79.

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deraniyagala, Siran Sinhalese archaeologists Sri Lankan archaeologists Sinhalese academics Historians of Sri Lanka 1942 births 2021 deaths Sri Lankan Buddhists Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of London Harvard University alumni Alumni of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia People from Chilaw

Early life

Career

Death

Bibliography

See also

References