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Miella (Myella) Hathras Galge Cave Vedda Art in Kotiyagala – මයිල්ල හතරැස් ගල්ගේ ගුහාවේ වැදි චිත්‍ර

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Miella (Myella) Hathras Galge Cave Vedda Art in Kotiyagala - මයිල්ල හතරැස් ගල්ගේ ගුහාවේ වැදි චිත්‍ර — Miella (Myella) Hathras Galge Cave Vedda Art in Kotiyagala – මයිල්ල හතරැස් ගල්ගේ ගුහාවේ වැදි චිත්‍ර

The land area between Monaragala and Yala northern border is filled with remote villages who mainly survive on paddy and Chena cultivations. Most of the land is covered in jungles and rock formations of various size an height rise at various locations. At most of these rock formations, you will find remains of ancient Buddhist monasteries providing a glimpse of the past of this area. Most of the ruins are not even reported but a research party headed by Takashi Okamura from Hosei University in Japan had made 2 research visits in 1985 and 1993 and has documented a significant number of hidden ruins in this area.

Out of the many ancient Buddhist sites in th remote Kotiyagala area, Miella Kanda (Myella Kanda) is one of the most known sites due to the ruins of the large recumbent buddha statue inside a rock shelter and the well preserved Vedda Cave art in a rock shelter. Close by lies another cave with Vedda art knowns as Hatharas Galge Cave few hundreds meters away from the rock. Hathras Galge Cave lies 400 meters west-northwest of Miella (Myella) caves with the reclining Buddha statue.

The rock shelter is created under two large rocks. The rock shelter A (see the sketch of the shelters below) is 2.5 meters high and 4.3 meters deep. The dripledge cut at the brow of the cave measures 35.5 meters long. Here you find 2 Vedda paintings, one seen riding a elephant. The rock shelter B measures 2.1 meters high and 4 meters deep with a 35.5 meter long dripledge.

Sketch of Miella (Myella) Hathras Galge cave
source : Ruins of the Ancient Ruhuna Civilization – In the Jungles of Kumbukkan Oya Basin SRI LANKA.

Map of the research area around Kotiyagala
source : Ruins of the Ancient Ruhuna Civilization – In the Jungles of Kumbukkan Oya Basin SRI LANKA.

Cave art in the Miella (Myella) Hathras Galge cave
source : Ruins of the Ancient Ruhuna Civilization – In the Jungles of Kumbukkan Oya Basin SRI LANKA.

References

Okamura, T., 1999. Ruins of the Ancient Ruhuna Civilization – In the Jungles of Kumbukkan Oya Basin SRI LANKA. Tokyo: Exploration Club of Hosei University.

Also See

Map of Miella (Myella) Hathras Galge Cave Vedda Art in Kotiyagala

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Travel Directions to Map of Miella (Myella) Hathras Galge Cave Vedda Art in Kotiyagala

Miella Kanda lies about 6 km south to the Kotiyagala Colany inside the thick jungle. Kotiyagala can be reached by turning off towards Wattegama from the 174th mile post on the Buttala – Pothvil road. Kotiyagala lies about 12 km down this road.

You will need the service of a local guide to take take you through the jungle to the Miella Ruins.

Route from Monaragala to Miella (Myella) Hathras Galge Cave Vedda Art

Through : Ratnapura – Beragala – Wellawaya – Buttala – Monaragala
Distance : 36
Travel time : 1.15 hours
Driving directions : see on google map

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