Nuwara Wewa of the Ancient Anuradhapura Kingdom

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Sun setting over Nuwara Wewa of Anuradhapura
photograph by Clem.C licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Described as a “marvellous work which must have occupied 50,000 men for many years.” in 1856 by Henry Ward, Governor of Ceylon 1855-1857 (Brohier, 1980), Nuwara Wewa is the largest of the three man-made reservoirs in Anuradhapura The other two are Basawakkulama (Abaya Wewa) and the Tissa Wewa. Nuwara Wewa is believed to have been built by King Vattagamini Abaya popularly known as King Valagamba in the first century BCE.

Identified as “Nakara Vapi,” which existed during the reign of Gaja Bahu I (112-134), this reservoir was enlarged and improved significantly. During the reign of King Moggallana II (535-555), a feeder channel was cut from the Nachchaduwa Wewa Reservoir (then known as Pattapasanavapi) to augment its capacity (Arumugam, 1969).

According to H. Parker in Ancient Ceylon (1909), based on the size of bricks used which is similar to bricks in Abayagiriya Stupa, the tank was built in the first 20 years of the 1st century BCE. It was built partly for irrigation and to supply water to the Monasteries of Anuradhapura and the suburbs.

Based on the bricks again, he believes that repairs were made to the tank in the 3rd Century and again in the 5th Century.

Plan and Section of Nuwara Wewa low level and high level slices — Plan and Section of Nuwara Wewa low-level and high-level slices
Source : H. Parker – Ancient Ceylon (1909)

According to Parker, the Nuwara Wewa Reservoir had two sluices. The low-level sluice featured a bisokotuwa measuring 11 feet along the culvert and 15 feet across, with walls 3 feet 6 inches thick and 14 feet high above the sill, lined with stone slabs.

There were two inlet and two outlet culverts built of stone. The former was only 17 feet 6 inches long and were separated by a masonry wall 6 feet 6 inches thick, they were 2 feet wide, and 4 feet 2 inches high. An open paved inlet channel, 71 feet 6 inches long and 15 feet wide, led up to them; this had side walls 3 feet 6 inches thick.

The outlet culverts, approximately 156 feet long and separated by a 7-foot thick wall, rested on an 18-inch thick floor. Each culvert was 2 feet wide and 2 feet 5 inches high, with outer walls 18 inches thick and covered with large stone slabs.

The bisokotuwa of the high-level sluice, made of brick and not lined with stone, measured 5 feet 4 inches across and 7 feet 10 inches along the culverts. It had walls 3 feet thick and was 22 feet high.

The inlet culvert started inside the reservoir, 113 feet from the toe of the bank, as a single rectangular stone culvert measuring 2 feet 9 inches high and 2 feet 6 inches wide. Its walls and floor were 18 inches thick, and it was covered with stones one foot thick. At 145 feet from its entrance, it split into two culverts, each 2 feet wide and 3 feet high. These had a dividing wall, side walls, and a floor 2 feet thick, with cover stones 18 inches thick. These culverts extended for 25 feet to the interior of the bisokotuwa.

There were two outlet culverts, each 14 inches wide and 20 inches high, separated by a wall 3 feet 8 inches thick. They had side walls and cover stones 18 inches thick and a floor 2 feet thick. These culverts were 154 feet long, making the total length from the sluice entrance to the outlet 335 feet. A 2-foot thick layer of clay puddle was applied around all the masonry. (Parker, 1909)

The Embankment (Bund) is 3 miles long and 37 feet high. The water height is about 23 feet the tank covers 3180 hectares and contains about 1500 million cubic feet of water. There has been a dam built across Malwathu Oya to divert water to the Nuwara Wewa. The Dam has been 33 feet wide, 160 feet long and 8 feet high and built with large solid rocks. In 1873 nearly all these rocks were removed to be used to erect a road bridge across the river.

From the Dam, a 40 feet wide channel has been cut to bring the water to the Nuwara Wewa. The water depth of the canal is about 4 feet and at about 150 feet from the Dam, a flood escape was found to divert the excess water back to the river.

References

Brohier, R. (1980) Ancient irrigation works in Ceylon (1934). Colombo: Ministry of Mahaweli Development.
Arumugam, S. (1969) Water Resources of Ceylon: Its Utilisation and Development. Colombo: Water Resources Board, Sri Lanka.
Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka (no date) Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka. Available at: http://www.mahaweli.gov.lk/ (Accessed: 28 September 2014).
The Mahavamsa – Great Chronicle – history of Sri Lanka – mahawansa (no date) THE MAHAVAMSA | The Great Chronicle of Sri Lanka. Available at: https://mahavamsa.org/ (Accessed: 28 September 2014).
Parker, H. (1909) Ancient Ceylon – An Account of the Aborigines and of Part of the Early Civilisation. London: Luzac & Co., H. (1909) Ancient Ceylon – An Account of the Aborigines and of Part of the Early Civilisation. London: Luzac & Co.

Also See

Anuradhapura – The city of the God Kings

Map of the Nuwara Wewa

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Traveling to Nuwara Wewa

Colombo to Anuradhapura By Bus

Anuradhapura is easily reached by bus, train or private transport. Air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned buses start at the Colombo Fort Main Bus Station. There are luxury busses which start from various places in Colomb travelling past Anuradhapura, to Vavuniya and Jaffna. However, you need to search the web and book a seat. These luxury buses mostly travel at night reaching their final destination early in the morning.

Colombo to Anuradhapura By Train

5 daily trains are starting from Fort Railway Station to Anuradhapura. Generally, the first train leaves at 9.40 am and the last train at 8.30 pm. Travel time is 4-5 hours depending on the number of stops of the particular train.

Colombo to Anuradhapura By Car or Van

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. There are two main routes to Anuradhapura from Kurunegala. 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