Ruins of Ebawalapitiya Gal Palama (Stone Bridge) over Deduru Oya (එබවලපිටිය පුරාණ ගල් පාලම නටබුණ්)

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Anuradhapura was the first real capital of Sri Lanka over two thousand two hundred years ago. The road network was in a highly developed state during this era, with major roads leading to Trincomalee, Mannar, Jaffna and the southern kingdoms from Anuradhapura. These roads were not only used for foot traffic but carts carrying goods travelling for trade and commercial activities. With the development of the road network, the ancient kings built sturdy bridges out of granite slabs and pillars. Ruins in various bridges around Anuradhapura can be found across Malwathu Oya, Hal Pan Ela, Kandara Oya, Yan Oya, Kala Oya and Deduru Oya.

Outside the more popular stone bridges over Malwathu Oya and Halpan Oya, ruins of a few other bridges have been discovered. There may be many more still  undiscovered stone bridges across the unknown ancient routes.

Ebawalapitiya lies about 9 kilometres off Padeniya on the Anuradhapura road. According to reference documents, the stone bridge over Deduru Oya lies about 1 km downstream of the ancient Sukara Nijjara (සූකර නිජ්ජර) Amuna built by the king Parakramabahu the Great (1153-1186) before being consecrated as the king. Sukara Nijjara Amuna (weir) lies 4 km downstream from the ancient Ridibendi Amuna which was renovated by D. S. Senanayake when he was the Minister of Agriculture and Lands from 1942–1947.

Ruins of the Ebawalapitiya Gal Palama (Stone Bridge) lie about 2 km downstream from the bridge over Deduru Oya on the Padeniya Anuradhapura road in the area surrounding Ebawalapitiya Viharaya. The Sukara Nijjara Amuna is about 1 km downstream from the bridge. The marker on the map has been marked in the approximate area of the ruins and if this area is correct, the path to this area is through the road to Ebawalapitiya Temple.

The bridge has been built at a place where Deduru Oya flows over a rock surface. The bridge has been completely destroyed leaving only the cavities on the rock where the stone pillars have been placed. The cavities are about 40×40 cm in size with the same depth. Therefore the the pillars have been estimated to be slighly larger (40-50 cm) in size. There are 2 rows of holes across the river. These are spaced at about 2.5 meters indicating the bridge to be about 3 meters wide. According to Dr Withanachchi, the pillars would have been about 2 meters high.

Other Stone Bridges of Sri Lanka

There are many stone bridges discovered in Sri Lanka. These are in various states while some have been conserved to an extent. The most popular is the bridge over the Malwathu Oya.

  1. Alubedda Stone Bridge
  2. Angammedilla National Park Stone Bridge (Polonnaruwa)
  3. Ebawalapitiya Gal Palama (Stone Bridge) over Deduru Oya
  4. Girihandu Seya Stone Bridge (Tiriyaya)
  5. Habagama Stone Bridge
  6. Halpan Ela Stone Bridge (Anuradhapura)
  7. Kayankerni Stone Bridge  (Eastern Province)
  8. Mahakanadarawa Wewa Stone Bridge (Mihintale)
  9. Nirawiya Farm Gal Palama (Thambuttegama)
  10. Palugaswewa Stone Bridge
  11. Pavakkulam Stone Bridge (Vavuniya)
  12. Perimiyankulama Gal Palama over Malwathu Oya (Anuradhapura)
  13. Sukara Nijjara Gal Amuna and Stone Bridge
  14. Thimbiripokuna Palamgala Gal Palama
  15. Thirappane Stone Bridge
  16. Thulawelliya Stone Bridge
  17. Ullukkulama Stone Bridge
  18. Vannadi Palama (Vannadi Stone Bridge) and Amuna
  19. Weliela Mankada Stone Bridge
  20. Yanoya Stone Bridge

Note that the location shown below on the Google Map is approximate based on the provided directions.

Ruins of the ancient Ebawalapitiya Gal Palama (stone bridge)
Ruins of the ancient Ebawalapitiya Gal Palama (stone bridge)
Image source : පුරාණ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ශෛලමය පාලම් නිර්මාණ කිහිපයක් සහ එහි තාක්ෂණය පිලිබඳ මූලික විමසුමක්

References

  • පුරාණ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ශෛලමය පාලම් නිර්මාණ කිහිපයක් සහ එහි තාක්ෂණය පිලිබඳ මූලික විමසුමක් – ආචාර්ය චන්දන රෝහණ විතානාච්චි
  • මහා පරාක්‍රමබාහු රජුගේ වාරි කර්මාන්ත : ශාස්ත්‍රපති සමන්තිලක විජේවර්ධන දිවයින පෙබරවාරි 22, 2012

Also See

Map of the Ruins of Ebawalapitiya Gal Palama (Stone Bridge) over Deduru Oya

Please click on the button below to load the Dynamic Google Map (ගූගල් සිතියම් පහලින්)
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The map above also shows other places of interest within a approximately 20 km radius of the current site. Click on any of the markers and the info box to take you to information of these sites

Zoom out the map to see more surrounding locations using the mouse scroll wheel or map controls.

Traveling Directions to the Ebawalapitiya Gal Palama (Stone Bridge) over Deduru Oya

Route from Anuradhapura to Ebawalapitiya Gal Palama (Stone Bridge) over Deduru Oya
Through : Galkulama
Distance : 10 km
Travel time :20 mins
Time to spend : 30 mins – 1 hour
Driving directions : see on google maps

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