The archaeological heritage of Sri Lanka can be divided into three ages;

Prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

(Stone-age),

Protohistoric Protohistory is the period between prehistory and written history, during which a culture or civilization has not yet developed writing, but other cultures that have developed writing have noted the existence of those pre-literate groups in their ...

(Iron Age), and historical period. The presence of man activities in Sri Lanka probably dates from 75,000 years ago (late

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

period). Prehistoric sites which are presently identified in the country are distributed from the maritime belt and the lowland plains of the wet and dry zones to the high plateaus and rain forests in the central and southwestern mountain regions of the island. The protohistoric period expands from about 1000 BC to the historical period at about 500 BC. The main indicators of the distribution of protohistoric and early settlements on the island are the

megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging geographically f ...

ic burials and

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

sites. The beginning of the historical period of Sri Lanka is traditionally assigned to the reign of King

Devanampiya Tissa Tissa, later Devanampiya Tissa (, ), also known as Devanape Tis (, ), was one of the earliest kings of Sri Lanka based at the ancient capital of Anuradhapura. According to the traditional chronology, he ruled from 307 BC to 267 BC, bu ...

(307–267 BC) when the

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

was introduced to Sri Lanka by the missionaries sent by the Indian emperor

Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...

. However, the first clear information about the establishment of buildings and structures are dated back to the time of king

Pandukabhaya Pandukabhaya was a king of Upatissa Nuwara and the first monarch of the Anuradhapura Kingdom and 6th over all of the island of Sri Lanka since the arrival of the Vijaya; he reigned from 437 BC to 367 BC. According to many historians and philo ...

(437–367 BC). Sri Lanka's political and religious history is mainly set out by the ancient

chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...

s as well as over 4,000 stone inscriptions from the 3rd century BC onward. Which gives the history in considerable detail from the 3rd century and less reliably back to the 6th century BC. Sri Lanka has more than 250,000 identified archaeological sites throughout the country and some of them have been declared as archaeological reserves and protected monuments by the Sri Lanka archaeological department. Archaeological reserves are sites that consist of archaeological remains which are under the direct control of the archaeological department. Protected monuments are privately owned but scheduled under section 18 of the Antiquities Ordinance No.09 of 1940.

Declaration of monuments

According to sections 16, 17, 18, and 19 of the Antiquities Ordinance No.09 of 1940, the minister who is in charge of the subject may declare the ancient monuments by notification published in the government

Gazette A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

. Also under sections 16, 17, and 19, ancient buildings and trees on state or private lands, may be declared as ancient monuments to provide safety and protection for them. Ancient construction with a historical and archaeological value which are over 100 years of age can also be declared as ancient monuments in terms of the provisions of the Antiquities (Amendment) Act No. 24 of 1988.

Central Province

Kandy District

Matale District

Nuwara Eliya District

Eastern Province

Ampara District

Batticaloa District

Trincomalee District

North Central Province

Anuradhapura District

Polonnaruwa District

North Western Province

Kurunegala District

Puttlam District

Northern Province

Jaffna District

Kilinochchi District

Mannar District

Mullaitivu District

Vavuniya District

Sabaragamuwa

Kegalle District

Ratnapura District

Southern Province

Galle District

Hambantota District

Matara District

Uva

Badulla District

Monaragala District

Western Province

Colombo District

Gampaha District

Kalutara District

References

Notes

External links

Department of Archaeology – Sri Lanka

Ministry of Culture and the Arts
{{Archaeological Protected Monuments in Sri Lanka Archaeological sites in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...