Alakeshwara Archaeological Site at Pittakotte - Tomb or Palace?

RATE THIS LOCATION : 1 Star

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

Tomb of Alakeshwara - remains of 2 rectangular kabook brick structures — Tomb of Alakeshwara – remains of 2 rectangular kabook brick structures

Believed to be the place of burial of the founder of Kotte, the Tomb of Alakeshwara can be easily reached through the Alakeshwara road on the Pittakotte road. Alakeshwara who was a minister of King Vikramabahu III of Gampola was entrusted to cease the advance of Arya Chakravarti’s armies which were advancing along the western coast. According to local legend, the minister observed a hare being chased by a jackal and when it came to a particular region the hare started chasing the jackal in return. Therefore the region was recognized as a Jaya Bumi and considered suitable to build a fortress.

It is from this position that the Minister Alakeshwara commandeered his campaign against the northern army and repulsed their advance. Later kings chose this region as their capital due to the natural protection it offered through the extensive marshes and the Diyawanna Oya.

The site consists of two structures close to reach other made of Kabook blocks. The first one is the larger of the two. This is rectangular in shape. 41 feet long and 18.5 feet wide. The other is built on a foundation with a irregular shape. The structure is a 21.5 feet long square.

Architectural features and the artifacts found from the site, such as grinding stones and water filters found at this site collaborate the assumption that the site is the palace of Alakeshwara although this site is popularly known as Alakeshwara Tomb (sohona).

Tomb of Alakeshwara - Some granite artifacts lying around.

An description of the site - Tomb of Alakeshwara - Pittakotte

Also See

Kingdom of Kotte

Map of Tomb of Alakeshwara

ගූගල් සිතියම් පහලින් – Please click on the button below to load the Dynamic Google Map –

ගූගල් සිතියම – Show Location

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

Zoom out the map to see more surrounding locations using the mouse scroll wheel or map controls.

Driving Directions to Tomb of Alakeshwara

Distance from Colombo Galle Face to Tomb of Alakeshwara
Though : Rajagiriya Distance :9 km Travel time : 20 mins Driving directions : see on google map