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Dr. Deraniyagala on The Island report
Apropos ‘Traces of Civilisation that Existed 300 Years Before Vijaya’s Arrival Found in Anuradhapura’ carried in our September 14, 2009 issue, Dr. S. U. Deraniyagala, consultant, issued the following statement: the evidence of an ancient civilisation in Anuradhapura, dating back to over 800 BC, was found in a series of excavations conducted in the past. The present excavation beside the Dalada Maligawa in the ancient city of Anuradhapura is still in its initial stage and it will be yet a while before the important pre-500 BC levels are reached.
The current excavation is being conducted as a joint project with Dr Senarath Dissanayake, Director-General of Archaeology, as overall Project Director with Professor K. Kohlmeyer of the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin, Germany and Professor Sudarshan Seneviratne, Director-General of the Central Cultural Fund, as Co-Directors. The primary goal of this project is to upgrade the quality of field archaeology in the Archaeological Department and in our universities. This training in state-of-the-art methods and techniques is being imparted by Prof. Kohlmeyer and his team.
A second goal of the present excavation is the acquisition of more data on the pre-500 BC culture as represented in the lower levels of Anuradhapura. This involves the excavation of a much larger area than has hitherto been conducted - it measures approximately 120 ft. by 75 ft. The post-excavation analyses and interpretation, which constitute the research aspect of the project, will be effected jointly between the Sri Lankan and German teams, with one complementing the other as per their respective strengths. The final publication, without which no excavation can be considered complete, will be a joint report reflecting the collaborative nature of this project.
