Dr. Ponnampalam Ragupathy in his PhD thesis and its publication as “Early settlements in Jaffna : An Archaeological Survey” in 1987 records some closeby sites with signs of early settlements amidst the paddy fields north east of Velanai Junction in Kayts Island of Jaffna.
The major site of this complex is Kumpuruppitti where Dr Ragupathy records structural remains and artifacts scattered in an area of 10-15 acres. He records a mound with limestone slabs and chiselled coral stones resembling a stupa. Grooved tiles were noticed in concentrations on one side of this mound, which has become a pond because of heavy earth-scooping. The concentration and variety of the artifacts in the vicinity denote the importance of the site. No photos of the site are presented.
The other sites, Nittil, Colavattai and Avarantula are neighbouring sites where the pottery distribution is sparse. A carved circular stone slab that looks like a quern for making sandal wood paste has been discovered at Avarantula.
This report is now over 40 years old and during the the Tamil Terrorist war which lasted for over 30 years, whether any remains can be found is doubtful. However the respective authorities should research on such places and preserve any ancient heritage for the future generations.
The location of this site is given as Latitude : 9°38’50.0″N and Longitude : 79°53’55.0″E.
References
- Ragupathy, P., 1987. Early settlements in Jaffna : An Archaeological Survey. 1st ed. Madras: Sudarsan Graphics.
Also See
Map of Buddhist Ruins at Ruins of Kumpuruppitti Buddhist Site in Velanai in Jaffna
ඉහල සිතියමේ මෙම ස්ථානය පමණක් නොව කිලෝමීටර 20ක් ඇතුලත තවත් වැදගත් ස්ථාන ලකුණු වී ඇත. මේ ස්ථාන බැලීමට සිතියම කුඩා කර බලන්න. වැඩි විස්තර සඳහා අවශ්ය ස්ථානය මතට මුසිකය ගෙනයන්න. එසේ නැතිනම් click කරන්න.
ගූගල් සිතියම වෙනත් ස්ථාන වලට චලනය කර ගෙනයාමෙන් එම ප්රදේශයේ වැදගත් ස්ථාන බලාගත හැක.
Driving Directions to Ruins of Kumpuruppitti Buddhist Site in Velanai in Jaffna
Jaffna can be reached through 2 directions. The first one is over the Elephant Pass which is the normal route to Jaffna. The other entrance is from Pooneryn over the newly built Sangupiddi Bridge. This road connects to Mannar.
Route 01 from Colombo to Jaffna (Through Kurunegala) | Route 02 from Colombo to Jaffna (Through Puttalam) |
Through : Kurunegala – Dambulla – Anuradhapura – Vavuniya Distance : 400 km Travel Time : 7-8 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map | Through : Puttalam – Anuradhapura – Vavuniya Distance : 400 km Travel Time : 7-8 hours Driving Directions : see on Google maps |
Jaffna town to Ruins of Kumpuruppitti Buddhist Site in Velanai |
Through : Kytes Distance : 26 km Time to travel : 45 mins Driving Directions : click here for Google Map |