Mundoo (
Dhivehi: މުންޑޫ) is one of the inhabited islands of
Haddhunmati Atoll
Haddhunmathi or Laamu Atoll (Dhivehi: ހައްދުންމަތި އަތޮޅު) is an administrative division of the Maldives. The administrative capital is Fonadhoo Island. It corresponds to the natural atoll of the same name.
It is mostly rimmed ...
(code letter "Laamu"). It is located in the long reef fringing the eastern side of Haddummati.
History
Archaeology
This island has large ruins from the historical Maldivian Buddhist era. The ''
stupa
A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as '' śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation.
In Buddhism, circumam ...
'', then ruinous, was excavated by
H. C. P. Bell
Harry Charles Purvis Bell, CCS (21 September 1851 – 6 September 1937), more often known as HCP Bell, was a British civil servant and the first Commissioner of Archaeology in Ceylon.
Early life
Born in British India in 1851, he was sent to En ...
in 1923.
Nothing noteworthy was found at this site. The stupa had been much vandalized and was merely a low mound of rubble and sand. Almost all carved porites stones had been removed. Few traces of railings or steps remained.
A report was published in Bell's monograph.
Geography
The island is south of the country's capital,
Malé
Malé (, ; dv, މާލެ) is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives. With a population of 252,768 and an area of , it is also one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city is geographically located at the southern ...
.
Demography
References
*Bell, H.C.P. ''The Maldive islands. Monograph on the History, Archaeology and Epigraphy''. Reprint 1940 edn. Malé 1986.
*
Romero-Frias, Xavier. ''The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom''. Barcelona 1999.
Islands of the Maldives
{{Maldives-geo-stub