The Department of Archaeology and Heritage Management has conducted an extensive exploration at the Palippothana Megalithic burial complex in Kahatagasdigiliya, Anuradhapura during January 2020. Seventy-two burials were recorded from an area of ca. 20,000 sqm. Burials of square and rectangle types, as well as menhir type, were recorded. With the Black and Red ware potsherds and fragments of iron objects recovered from the robber pits, the burial complex could relatively assign into 490-350 BC. As the tableland (MSL 161 m) locates in the upper regions of Ma Oya and Malvathu Oya basins, the present study will provide path to understand the colonisation of the river basins during the protohistoric period. The burials hold unique pieces of evidence, and the research team is currently working on further research questions as the funerary rituals, astronomy and the burial architecture, geology of the rock outcrops and the constructions. It hopes the results will provide answer for some complex issues of the protohistoric cultural transitions of the country.
Department of Archaeology and Heritage Management
Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka
