Yapahuwa Gal Sohon Kanatta Megalithic Burial Site (යාපහුව ගල් සොහොන් කනත්ත මෙගලිතික ආදි මානව සුසාන භූමිය)

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Yapahuwa Ancient Megalithic Burial Site (Gal Sohon Kanatta) - යාපහුව මෙගලිතික ආදි මානව සුසාන භූමිය (ගල් සොහොන් කනත්ත) — Yapahuwa Ancient Megalithic Burial Site (Gal Sohon Kanatta) – යාපහුව මෙගලිතික ආදි මානව සුසාන භූමිය (ගල් සොහොන් කනත්ත)

The prehistoric and historical heritage in the surrounding area of Yapahuwa has been preserved in the stone caves, rock shelters, inscriptions, graves, and other ruins.. This rather unknown stone cist burial site in Yapahuwa called “Gal Sohon Kanatta” (stone tomb cemetery) by locals lies in the village known as “Pin Wewa” about 1.6 km from Yapahuwa and south-east of Maho town. This area covers about 5 hectares in extent and is located at 240 m above sea level.

A survey carried out by the Department of Archaeology and the University of Peradeniya in 1997 revealed about 109 visible burials at this site. The landscape of the study site is generally flat. This includes relatively small wash divides, depressions, a tributary of the Deduru Oya, several small irrigation tanks, and cultivated fields. Three radiocarbon dates obtained from charcoal associated with burials has indicated the site’s existence spanning between 420 BC to 20 AD.

It has been observed that the graves consist of Cist Burials as well as some Urn Burials. Unfortunately, this site has not been properly preserved and only a few Cist Burial graves can be found today which could easily be mistaken for a few random slabs of stone.

Note that the location marked on the Google Map below is an approximate location.

S4, S5, S6, S7, S8, S9, S10 and S12) are shown in black circles while charcoal collected levels for 14C dates are shown in rectangles. Calibrated ages are included at 95% probability — Sketch shows the relative position of large and small urn burials (Pots) at the two locations within the excavated area. Location 1 and 2 represent exposed pits covering 6 5 m and 7 6 m areas. The largest urn (Pot 7) is located within a stone cist. Relatively large urns (Pot 15) and other small urns are shown. Locations of pollen analyzed samples (S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, S8, S9, S10, and S12) are shown in black circles while charcoal collected levels for 14C dates are shown in rectangles. Calibrated ages are included at a 95% probability

References

Premathilake, R. and Seneviratne, S., 2015. Cultural implication based on pollen from the ancient mortuary complex in Sri Lanka. Journal of Archaeological Science, 53, pp.559-569.

Also See

Pre Historic Burial Sites of Sri Lanka

Map of Yapahuwa Ancient Megalithic Burial Site (Gal Sohon Kanatta)

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

Show Location (ගූගල් සිතියම)

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 Yapahuwa Ancient Megalithic Burial Site (Gal Sohon Kanatta)

Route from Yapahuwa Junction to Yapahuwa Ancient Megalithic Burial Site (Gal Sohon Kanatta)

Through : Yapahuwa Rock Palace
Distance : 3.5 km
Travel time : 6 mins
Time to Spend : 10 -15 mins
Driving directions : see on google map

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