Samalankulam Buddhist Ruins in Vavuniya

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Losing Heritage of Samalankulam Buddhist Ruins in Vavuniya - කෝවිලකින් යටවෙමින් පවතින වවුනියාවේ සමලන්කුලම බෞද්ධ නටබුන් භූමිය. — Losing Heritage of Samalankulam Buddhist Ruins in Vavuniya – කෝවිලකින් යටවෙමින් පවතින වවුනියාවේ සමලන්කුලම බෞද්ධ නටබුන් භූමිය.

The remote village of Samalankulama (Samalankulam in Tamil) is situated 5 km off Vavuniya town, within the Asikulama Grama Niladhari Division of the Vavuniya South Assistant Government Agent’s Division. It lies 3 km away from both the Vavuniya-Medawachchiya road and the Vavuniya-Kebithigollewa road.

Because of this equal distance, it is suggested that the village derived its name from Sama-lan (සම-ලං), meaning equidistance. Another proposed origin for the name is a gradual alteration from the name “Samanala.”

The area itself is historically significant, as the nearby Madukanda site is linked to the arrival of the Sri Dalada (Sacred Tooth Relic), and the ancient Samalang Wewa Reservoir is reportedly mentioned in the Vanni Rajavaliya. Unfortunately, this ancient Buddhist site is currently under threat of disappearing soon due to a Hindu Kovil that has been constructed on the same ground.

The site was inspected in the 1970s, and archaeologists recorded the remains of an image house and two stupa mounds, all dating to the Anuradhapura period, located on a rocky plain. Initial excavation of the image house led to the discovery of a statue of an Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva and a portion of a Buddha statue.

Reports of Systematic Destruction of the Ruins (1975–1978)

The site suffered significant damage starting around 1975. That year, a government engineer, unaware of the ancient remains, blasted a section of the rock and utilized the resulting rubble for road construction. Also commencing in 1975 was the building of a Kovil (dedicated to ‘Gana Deviyo‘) on the rocky plain, which caused damage to a stupa mound. A police report filed on 17^th November 1978 confirmed this damage and noted that stones removed from the stupa were found near the Kovil, suggesting they were repurposed for its construction.

Further details came from the Government Agent in Vavuniya in a letter dated 10th October 1978, where he mentioned four structural ruins on the rock plain, which stands approximately 4.6 meters (15 feet) above ground level. A Pillayar Kovil was being built directly atop one ancient building, and two flattened stupas were observed on what appeared to be a platform measuring 15.2 by 15.2 meters (50 by 50 feet). Two pieces of pillars were also seen at one of these stupa sites.

Archaeological Findings and Conservation (1979)

In response to the reported damage, the Archaeological Department initiated excavation and conservation work in the late 1970s. The Archaeology Commissioner’s report for 1979 confirmed that the mound of earth and bricks was the remains of an image house dating to the Middle Anuradhapura period. It was also noted that an annex had been added to the left side of the image house at a later time. Excavations within the ruins uncovered an upper part of a broken left arm from a limestone Buddha statue and a bronze Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva statue. In the middle of the image house, a small relic chamber covered by bricks was discovered, containing two old coins (Kahapanas).

The status of the stupa mounds was detailed in a report by the Archaeological Officer on 2nd March 1979. The conservation of the image house was completed on 10th February 1979, after which work began on a stupa. The mound for this stupa had stood about 3.7 meters (12 feet) high, but half of it had been removed for the Kovil construction.

The stupa was found to have been built on a 7.6 x 7.6 meter (25 x 25 feet) square platform. Due to the extensive removal of bricks from various places, the officer reported that the original shape of the platform could not be definitively determined, though it appeared to be octagonal.

The Thirty Years’ War

Similar to numerous archaeological sites situated in the north and northeast, this location endured complete neglect throughout the thirty-year brutal war involving Tamil terrorists. Following the conclusion of the war and the holding of elections, Tamil politicians have reportedly been relentlessly attempting to erase evidence of Buddhist heritage sites in the region. This has been primaraly achieved by constructing kovils over these sites and obstructing archaeological conservation efforts by inciting civilians to create communal unrest.

The Japanese Survey of 2012

In 2012, the Japanese Cultural Heritage International Cooperation Consortium conducted a brief Partner Country Survey of the Samalankulama Archaeological site. Their report noted that the site has now been transformed into a Shiva Temple, specifically the Samalankulama Pillaiyar Kovil. However, the report confirmed that a Buddhist temple existed there originally.

The surviving ruins include a brick monastery with a stupa and building materials scattered in the vicinity. Additionally, a bronze statue of the Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, which is now held by the Vavuniya Archaeological Museum, was excavated from the monastery site. The report highlighted a unique architectural feature: the stupa possesses an octagonal and hexagonal substructure atop a square base, a design not typically found in Sri Lanka.

Further Destruction in 2018

The remains of this site faced further destruction in 2018. It is reported that the Tamil National Alliance funded an expansion of the kovil, during which ruins were bulldozed. When officers from the Archaeological Department arrived at the scene to investigate the damage, they were chased away by villagers.

Unfortunately, all governments have been turning a blind eye towards the wilful destruction of the ancient Buddhist heritage scattered all around the north and northeastern provinces while the politicians move in to build kovils on top of them and then claim religious disharmony. The photos below are from the letter sent to the Director General of UNESCO to “safeguard and preserve the cultural property in Sri Lanka endangered by racial prejudice unlawful occupation or wilful destruction” in 1983 by the late Cyril Mathew, then minister of Industries and Scientific Affairs.

A Stupa Mound before restoration discovered in Samalankulam - Vavuniya

A Statuette of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva discovered in Samalankulam - Vavuniya

Archaeological Conservation in Progress of an ancient building of the temple complex discovered in Samalankulam - Vavuniya

References

De Silva, R. and Karunaratne, W., n.d. Administration report of the archaeological commissioner for the year 1979. 1st ed. Colombo: Department of the Government Printing, p.48.
Gunarathne, B., 2021. වවුනියාවේ වැළලුණු බොදු පුදබිම් – සමලාන්කුලම්. Dinamina, p.21.
Mathew, C., 1983. An Appeal to UNESCO to Safeguard and Preserve the Cultural Property in Sri Lana Endangered by Racial Prejudice, Unlawful Occupation or Wilful Destruction.
Dharmawardana, C., 2018. LankaWeb – Samalan Weva archeological sites and Taliban-like activity by Eelamists.. [online] Lankaweb.com. Available at: <http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2018/11/20/samalan-weva-archeological-sites-and-taliban-like-activity-by-eelamists/> [Accessed 8 June 2021].
Dharma-wardana., C., n.d. TRADITIONAL SINHALA PLACE NAMES OF TOWNS IN THE NORTH AND EAST SRI LANKA – Sinhala placenames.. [online] Dh-web.org. Available at: <https://dh-web.org/place.names/#vanni79> [Accessed 8 June 2021].
2014. スリランカ北部、東北部における文化財保存と活用調査報告書 – 文化遺産国際協力コンソーシアム協力相手国調査 – （平成24年度）. Japan: 文化遺産国際協力コンソーシアム事務局, p.62.
Rathugamage, D., 2018. සමලන්කුලමේ විහාර බිමක බලහත්කරයෙන් හින්දු කෝවිලක් හදයි – පරීක්ෂාවට ගිය පුරාවිද්‍යාවට පූජකවරු හා ගම්වැසියන් පහර දෙන්නත් හදලා. [online] Divaina.com. Available at: <https://divaina.com/daily/index.php/main-news/19962-2018-11-18-13-20-40> [Accessed 8 June 2021].

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