Director: Dr. Carl J. Wendt

Co-director: Dr. D. K. Jayaratne

Co-director: Dr. Sudharshan Seneviratne

The Nilgala Archaeology Project is an international collaborative archaeological research endeavor, which involves archaeologists and students from the United States and Sri Lanka.  The goal of the 2006 investigations (supported by an American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies fellowship) was to collect information on site location, type, preservation, abundance, regional ecology, excavation conditions, and material chronology through archaeological reconnaissance survey work.  Information collected during the season’s work will be used to understand the region’s archaeological and historic cultural resources and to evaluate the region’s long term research potential.  Data collected on archaeological resources will be used to design a full-scale research project in the Nilgala region, which will address questions on cultural adaptations and culture change in the Nilgala region. Long-Term research objectives will be achieved through future large-scale, intensive regional survey and excavation.

The Nilgala region is situated in the Monaragala District, Province of Uva, and in areas that today are protected by Sri Lanka’s Wildlife (Selakka Oya Wildlife Sanctuary) and Forestry (Gal Oya National Park) Departments.  Although Sri Lanka’s Pre-Colonial period has received a considerable amount of scholarly attention, most research has documented the important cultural developments of the ancient hydraulic civilizations of the nation’s dry north-central plains, and largely ignored other areas such as east-central portion of the island where only a scant amount of archaeological research has been undertaken. It is, thus, impossible to describe in detail cultural developments, adaptations, and long-term change in this eastern-central region.  This lacuna is particularly problematic since without data from Sri Lanka’s so-called ‘peripheral’ regions, we cannot hope to gain a detailed understanding of the island’s past.
 

Archaeological reconnaissance survey fieldwork was undertaken from June through August 2006.  The field research team was composed of the project director, two Sri Lankan archaeology field supervisors, four Sri Lankan archaeologists, two US graduate student volunteers, representatives from the Sri Lankan Forest and Wildlife Departments, and a number of local field guides.        

The area was surveyed (non-systematically) with the aid of 1:50,000 and 1-inch topographic map enlargements, two Trimble GeoXT handheld GPS units, and a Trimble Total Station.  Project supervisors and archeologists brought to the field their skill in mapping, cataloguing, and data collection, while Forest and Wildlife representatives and local guides brought their intimate knowledge of the area including the terrain, site location, and dangerous areas.  Most sites were located using a method of ‘on-the-ground’ consultations and questioning.  The ‘on-the-ground’ consultations involved questioning of locals for information on site location.  However, it was our hired local field guides that were provided the most detailed and accurate information on site location.

Archaeological sites were identified by architecture, human modifications (e.g., caves with drip ledges), and/or material scatters.  Site coordinates were recorded using GPS units, which will allow for their placement on a digital 1:50,000 scale topographic map.  Architectural features were photographed and mapped using a compass and tape method and topographic maps of some sites were created with the Trimble Total Station.  Other site features, information, and observations (i.e., cultural and natural features, physical environment, and land use) were recorded on field forms.  For this initial reconnaissance project, artifact sampling (collection) was not conducted.

            Twenty-one sites were visited and recorded during the 2006 field season, 18 of which had not been previously documented.  A wide range of sites were identified and recorded including monastery (monument) sites, cave sites with drip ledges (and some with Brahmi inscriptions and architecture), iron processing sites, sites with inscription/symbols on rock outcrops, sites that may have been loci of habitation and palaces, and traces of the ancient Kalugalbemma road. 

One of the most remarkable findings was that of the Andagala Complex, which is composed of at least four dispersed architectural groupings containing what appear to be the remains of palaces, stone buildings, massive stone terraces, and associated habitations.  Other important finds were sites with evidence of iron ore processing (crushing/grinding), many cave sites with drip ledges (likely Buddhist hermitage sites) that would have been associated with habitations, sites identified by stone pillars, and the ancient Kalugalbemma road, which historic documents report connected Anuradhapura to Tissamaharama.

Results of the Nilgala Archaeology Project provide an indication of the abundant archaeological resources and occupations in the Nilgala region that span the Proto-Historic through the modern period.  The region thus should not be considered marginal in terms of archaeological resources, and further archaeological investigation is necessary to document and record archaeological resources in the region. 

The tentative results support the view that the region had a very dynamic and important history/prehistory.  Moreover, finds suggest that the Nilgala region was important in terms of trade, exchange, and interactions from the north and south, and perhaps from sea trade to the east.  The broad impact of this research is that it lays the foundation for a larger and more extensive archaeological study of the Nilgala region, and at the same time highlights the need for archaeological investigations to be implemented in other so-called ‘peripheral’ areas.