Kahatagasdigiliya Kalpe Archaeological Reserve (කහටගස්දිගිලිය කල්පේ පුරාවිද්‍යා රක්‍ෂිතය)

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Kahatagasdigiliya Kalpe Archaeological Reserve

Kalpe Archaeological Reserve lies somewhat in the middle of Anuradhapura – Trincomalee Road. Its 47 km away from Anuradhapura and 60 km away from Trincomalee. Traveling from Anuradhapura passing Mihintale, Kahatagasdigiliya and the Kalpe wewa, you come across the Kalpe Junction, 13 km past Kahatagasdigiliya. From this junction take the gravel road to the right and travel one kilometre to reach the site.

The archaeological site is spread over an area of about 75 acres. The main artefact of the site is a fairly large stupa, about 5 meters in height now. This stupa is built on a 4mx4m platform. The complete construction of the stupa and the platform on which it is standing is made of clay bricks. Four stones with the carved footprint of Buddha (Siripathul Gal) are placed on the four sides of the stupa. The stupa has been severely damaged by treasure hunters.

About 7 meters away southwest of the stupa lies the remains of a Tampita Viharaya. 30 pillar stumps (out of possible 36 pillar stumps) on which the Tampita Viharaya stood can be found. You can also see a moonstone, two stone balustrades (Korawak gal) and a pair of Guard Stones (Muragal) close to this building. Since the Bull which is seen in the Anuradhapura era is missing in this moonstone, this building can be dated to the Polonnaruwa Era (1017-1236 BCE). However, the stone balustrades (korawak gal) lack any elaborate carvings.

In addition, there are foundations and remains of a few other buildings as well close to the Tampita Viharaya. Based on the features of the cavities in the stone artefacts which were the result of splitting the rocks, these buildings can be placed to the early Anuradhapura period. Therefore this site shows activity from the Anuradhapura kingdom to the Polonnaruwa kingdom up to the time of the Kandyan kingdom.

remains of another building complex enclosed by a moat is found 200 meters east of the stupa in an area called Maligawatta which literally means Palace Garden. During excavations carried out in this area in 1977, 7 Buddha images made of gold were discovered which are now placed in Colombo Museum. The building complex surrounded by this moat is believed to be an aramic complex built in the Pabbatha Vihara style of architecture.

References

Mendis, T., Abeywardana, N. and Dissanayaka, S. (2015) “මධ්‍ය යාන්ඔය නිම්නය ආශ්‍රිත පුරාණ ජනාවාස රටාව හා සංස්කෘතික භූ දර්ශනය,” The Journal of Archaeology & Heritage Studies, 2(1).

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Map of Kahatagasdigiliya Kalpe Archaeological Reserve

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Travel Directions to Kahatagasdigiliya Kalpe Archaeological Reserve

Anuradhapura can be reached through many routes from Colombo. The two main routes are through Puttalam (Puttalama) and through Kurunegala. Travelling from Puttalam, you will pass the scenic Wilpattu area. From Kurunegala, there are two main routes to Anuradhapura. The most common route is through Dambulla. The other route is through Galgamuwa. Out of all the routes, the most commonly used is the Kurunegala-Dambulla route (Route 2).

Route 01 from Colombo to Anuradhapura	Route 02 from Colombo to Anuradhapura
Through : Negombo – Chilaw – Puttalam Distance from Colombo : 210 km Travel time : 4.30- 5.00 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map	Through : Katunayake Expressway – Central Expressway – Kurunegala – Dambulla Distance from Colombo : 223 km Travel Time : 4.30- 5.00 hours Driving Directions : see on Google maps
Route 03 from Colombo to Anuradhapura	Route from Kandy to Anuradhapura
Through : Katunayake Expressway – Narammala – Wariyapola – Padeniya – Thambuthegama Distance from Colombo :203 km Travel Time : 4.30- 5.00 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map	Through : Katugastota – Matale – Dambulla Distance from Colombo :136 km Travel Time : 3.5 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map

Route from Anuradhapura to Kahatagasdigiliya Kalpe Archaeological Reserve

Through : Mihintale – Kahatagasdigiliya
Distance : 48 km
Travel time : 1 hour
Time to spend : 1 hour
Driving directions : see on g o ogle map

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Mihintale Slab Inscriptions and the Relic House (4වන මිහිඳු රජුගේ මිහින්තලේ පුවරු ලිපි)
The inscription of King Mahinda IV belonging to the tenth century is installed on the two sides of the entrance to this Vihara. The relic house is a square building. […]
Dambegoda Pillar Inscription in Maligawila (දඹේගොඩ ටැම් ලිපිය)
Established by King Mahinda IV (956-972) Dambegoda Pillar Inscription in Maligawila narrates the religious acts of the king and lays down rules for the administration of certain religious establishments. […]
Kotttapitiya Slab Inscription (කෝට්ටපිටිය පුවරු ලිපිය)
The Kotttapitiya Slab Inscription is considered one of the 14 valuable inscriptions of the Anuradhapura Era. The pillar inscription is believed to have been placed by King Mahinda IV (956-972) and is 6 feet in height and 1.5 feet wide. 45 lines of text have been inscribed on this pillar. […]
Ranawa Andiyagala Pillar Inscription (රණව ආඬියාගල ටැම් ලිපිය)
Placed by King Dappula IV in the early part of the 10th century, this Ranawa Andiyagala Pillar Inscription declares a sanctuary for Animal, Plants as well as Humans in the Namal Uyana area. Even royal guards were prohibited from entering this area to apprehend criminals. […]
Dutugemunu Pillar at Ruwanweli Seya (දුටුගැමුණු ශිලා ස්ථම්භය)
Many do not pay special attention to this pillar which is generally called "Dutugenumu Pillar" but the story behind this pillar is interesting as the construction of the Ruwanweli Seya itself. This pillar was installed by King Devanampiyatissa (250-210 BCE) on the advice of Mihindu Maha Thero. […]
Wadamunai (Wadamune) Megalithic Burial Site in Maduru Oya Valley
In this Wadamunai (Wadamune) Megalithic Cemetery, scattered across the landscape, lie between 15 to 20 graves. Unfortunately, the peaceful serenity of these resting places has been disrupted by thorn bushes, which have taken root amidst many of the tombs. Adding to the desecration, some graves have fallen victim to the destructive hands of treasure hunters, who have ransacked them in search of valuables. […]
Gurugalhinna Megalithic Burial Grounds
Gurugalhinna Megalithic Cemetery was initially uncovered and examined in 1896 by R. W. Levers. Subsequently, in the 1970s, Raja De Silva from the Department of Archaeology led excavations at Gurugalhinna. However, the burials at the site have not been scientifically dated. […]
Dalada Maligawa of Kurunegala Kingdom (කුරුණෑගල රාජධානියේ දළදා මාලිගාව)
The old city of Kurunegala Kingdom was spread between Kuruminigala and Ibbagala, bounded by Athugala. Even today ruins of the palace complex, the Temple of Tooth (Dalada Maligawa) and other buildings inside a semi-circular are found on this strip of land between Athugala and Kuruminigala. […]
Kanugala Sri Pushparama Purana Tampita Viharaya (කණුගල ශ්‍රී පුෂ්පාරාම පුරාණ ටැම්පිට විහාරය)
The Tampita Viharaya is built on a wooden platform on six large granite stumps. A wooden ladder with 5 steps leads to the verandah of the vihara-ge. the walls of the inner chamber is adorned with clay figures of deities by the entrance. […]
Attanagalla Rajamaha Viharaya (අත්තනගල්ල රජමහා විහාරය)
Attanagalla Rajamaha Viharaya is one of the most famous ancient royal temples in Sri Lanka lying close to Gampaha, 48 km away from Colombo. […]
Detiyamulla Sri Jettatissa Rajamaha Viharaya Archaeological Ruins (දෙටියමුල්ල ශ්‍රී ජෙට්ඨතිස්ස රජමහා විහාරය පුරාවිද්‍යා නටඹුන්)
A large temple complex now reduced to granite pillar stumps and foundations has been preserved at this temple. Number of such buildings and few artifacts of the by gone era can be seen at this temple. […]
Lankagama Sangili Palama / Hanging Bridge (ලංකාගම සංගිලි පාලම)
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Ulapane Fool’s Bridge / Upside Down Bridge (උලපනේ මෝඩයාගේ පාලම / උඩ යට පාලම)
Built in 1904 by the British, the uniqueness of this steel bridge is the side arches generically found on steel bridges are built at the bottom of the bridge giving it a look of a bridge built upside down. […]
Ruwanwella Sangili Palama (රුවන්වැල්ල එල්ලෙන පාලම / සංගිලි පාලම)
The Ruwanwella Suspension Bridge across Kelani River at Ruwanwella is believed to be the longest of its type in Sri Lanka. Built in 2007, this foot bridge connect the Ruwanwella town with villages such as Nikawalamulla and Kurupaththa. The bridge is 550 feet (170 meters) long […]
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Mahakumbukgollewa Sri Dalada Tampita Viharaya (මහකුඹුක්ගොල්ලෑව ශ්‍රී දළදා ටැම්පිට විහාරය)
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Korasagalla Koranaka Sandagala Rajamaha Viharaya (කොරසගල්ල කොරණක සඳගල රජමහා විහාරය)
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Korasagalla Wewa Biso Kotuwa Ruins (කොරසගල්ල වැව බිසෝ කොටුව)
Korasagalla is an ancient village on the Thalawa road few kilometers away from Kakirawa. History of the Koranaka Sandagala Tampita Rajamaha Viharaya in Korasagalla is believed to go back as far as the reign of king Kawanthissa. […]
Namalpura Sri Vishuddharama Tampita Viharaya / Madawala Tampita Viharaya (නාමල්පුර ශ්‍රී විශුද්ධාරාම ටැම්පිට විහාරය / මඩවල ටැම්පිට විහාරය)
The Tampita Viharaya of the Sri Vishuddharama Tampita Viharaya (Madawala Tampita Viharaya) lies in the remote village of Namalpura 17 kms away from Habarana. […]
Mahadivulwewa Ancient Tampita Viharaya
Mahadivulwewa Tampita Viharaya lies close to the desolated Mahadivulwewa reservoir, lying about 8 km inwards from the Ritigala - Galenbindunuwewa road. Deserted and neglected, this ancient complex also consist of a Tampita Viharaya built during the Kandyan era. […]

References

Also See

Map of Kahatagasdigiliya Kalpe Archaeological Reserve

Travel Directions to Kahatagasdigiliya Kalpe Archaeological Reserve

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