Belanbandi Palassa Mesolithic Site (බෙල්ලන්බැඳි පැලැස්ස)

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Belanbandi Palassa is one of the most important Mesolithic sites in Sri Lanka and has yielded a valuable collection of human skeletal remains popularly known as Balangoda Man. The site, discovered by Arthur Delgoda of Morahala, was excavated over several seasons in the late 1950s and early 1960s by P.E.P. Deraniyagala, yielding thirteen flexed human burials and a large collection of faunal remains and stone artefacts that provided the foundation for comparative assessment of ethnic origins (Kennedy, 1965; Deraniyagala, S.U.,1992). Subsequent excavation in 1971 attempted to clarify the stratigraphic and chronological context of the site; radiocarbon measurement yielded a date of ca. 2,070 years BP, considered to be too young and contaminated, and a thermo-luminescence measurement on fired quartz crystal directly associated with one of the burials gave a date of 6,500 ± 700 years BP, although again the date was considered young (Deraniyagala and Kennedy, 1972; Deraniyagala, S.U., 1992).

Belanbandi Palassa, which does not appear on any survey maps is located right bank of the Uda Walawe River, above the bed of the Bellan-bandi stream in the Uda Walawa National Park in Ratnapura district. It is approached by following game tracks and temporary streams once one has crossed the Pusale Ara, a northern tributary of the Uda Walawe River. The site lies beside a nameless tributary of the Pusale that disappears during the dry season. The locality is about 5.6 km west of Seenukgala, 1.6 km southwest of Ulgala Hill and another hill Pansadara is 3.1 km to the northeast.

The pointer on the Google map below marks the approximate area.

Also See

Pre Historic Burial Sites of Sri Lanka

Map of Belanbandi Palassa

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Also See

Map of Belanbandi Palassa

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