Walioya Kiriibbanwewa Pansalgodella Archaeological Ruins

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ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණය කරන ලද කිරිඉබ්බන් වැව - Restored Kiriibban Wewa Reservoir

The Kiribbanwewa reservoir is located about 5 kilometers along the Mullaitivu road from Weli Oya. This ancient reservoir, covering an area of approximately 230 acres with a capacity of 2,400 acre-feet, remained largely neglected and underutilized until 2019. However, under the Kivul Oya Reservoir Project, it was fully rehabilitated and is now used both for irrigating 370 acres of farmland and supplying drinking water to surrounding communities.

South of Kiribbanwewa lies a small rocky hill known as Pansalgodalla, rising about 15 meters and extending roughly a kilometer in length. The site contains remains of an ancient early Anuradhapura-period sangharama, including three drip-ledged caves and the foundations of ruined structures. A small modern temple now functions at the site, known as Galkanda Viharaya.

One of the caves, located on the northern slope, is a two-level cave where a large rock above the main cave has been adapted into an upper chamber. A stone-carved seat can be seen within the upper cave, complete with a chiseled drainage channel designed to prevent water ingress.

Early Brahmi Inscriptions

Two important early Brahmi inscriptions have been recorded inside the lower cave, the only such inscriptions discovered in this region, making them of high archaeological value. Their translations are as follows:

“පරුමක දේවගේ භාර්යාව වූ අජරියගේ ලෙණ” (The cave of Ajeriya, wife of Chief Deva.)
“රාජකුමාර ගණකාධිකාරී ……………….. ලෙණ (සංඝයාට) නියත කර දෙන ලදී“ (The cave of Prince Ganakadhikari… is donated to the Sangha.)

Due to centuries of ritual activities performed by local villagers, the preservation of these caves has been somewhat compromised.

Other Structures and Ruins

To the left of the cave, atop the hill, lie the remains of a brick structure, now completely destroyed by treasure hunters. Based on its layout, it is believed to be the remains of a stupa. A rock-cut path ascending the hill can be seen on the southern side of the cave, leading to another brick ruin, also thought to be part of a stupa.

Scattered throughout the area are remnants of ancient buildings, stone pillar bases, old roof tiles, brick fragments, and stone blocks. A smaller hill, about 2.5 meters in height, is also found within this rocky area and appears to have been prepared for some form of construction. The damage caused by treasure hunting is evident, but despite the destruction, the site is still identifiable as a Buddhist monastery from the early Anuradhapura period.

A request has been made to designate this archaeological site as a protected reserve under the Kivul Oya Reservoir Project.

වැලිඔය කිරිඉබ්බන්වැව පන්සල්ගොඩැල්ල දෙමහල් ලෙණ – Walioya Kiriibbanwewa Pansalgodella Archaeological Ruins

වැලිඔය කිරිඉබ්බන්වැව පන්සල්ගොඩැල්ල දෙමහල් ලෙනෙහි උඩ ලෙනෙහි ශෛලමය ආසනය – Walioya Kiriibbanwewa Pansalgodella Archaeological Ruins

References

Asanga, M. V. P. K., & Nishantha, I. P. S. (2018). පෞරාණික ස්ථාන හා ස්මාරක – මුලතිව් දිස්ත්‍රික්කය (1st ed.). Department of Archaeology, Sri Lanka.
2014. Proposed Kivul Oya Reservoir Project. EIA FINAL Report. Colombo: Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka, pp.228-231.
Archaeologysl.maps.arcgis.com. 2020. Web GIS Portal – Web GIS Unit. [online] Available at: <https://archaeologysl.maps.arcgis.com/home/index.html> [Accessed 30 September 2020].

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