Heritage

Mahavihara Image House of Ancient Anuradhapura (අනුරාධපුර මහාවිහාර ප්‍රතිමා ගෘහයේ නටබුන්)

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Mahavihara Image House of Ancient Anuradhapura

To the west of Ruwanweli Seya stupa, close to the embankment of the Basawakkulama Wewa reservoir lies an elevated area on which the foundation of a building made with massive blocks of stone is seen. The Thuparama Road which runs along the Basawakkulama Wewa reservoir travels between this structure and reservoir.

The foundation of a building has been restored and stone columns on the mound can be seen at this site. The building has been square 34×34 meter structure. A relic deposit box has been discovered in the upper portion of the building. Usually, such relic deposit boxes are discovered at the base of the relic chambers and the bottom of seats accommodating Buddha images. This may, therefore, have been an image house which had provided accommodation for an image.

The capitals of the columns contain intrinsic carvings. It would be fair to conclude that this building belongs to the latter part of the Anuradhapura period on the basis of the style of the sculptures.

References

Wikramagamage, C., (2004). Heritage of Rajarata: Major natural, cultural, and historic sites. Colombo. Central Bank of Sri Lanka. p.72.

Also See

Anuradhapura – The city of the God King

Map of Mahavihara Image House of Ancient Anuradhapura

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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

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Driving Directions to Mahavihara Image House of Ancient Anuradhapura

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 Railway Station to Mahavihara Image House Ruins

Distance : 2.5 kilometers
Travel time : 8 minutes
Driving directions : see on google map

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References

Also See

Map of Mahavihara Image House of Ancient Anuradhapura

Driving Directions to Mahavihara Image House of Ancient Anuradhapura

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