Thammannakulama or Thammannkulam located in

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura (, ; , ) is a major city located in the north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central Province, Sri Lanka, North Central Province and the capital of Anuradhapura District. The city lies north of the cur ...

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, ...

, is the largest town in the city of

Anuradhapura Airport Anuradhapura Airport (; ; ) is a domestic airport serving Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka. It is also a military airbase known as Sri Lanka Air Force Base Anuradhapura or SLAF Base Anuradhapura. The airport is located southeast of the town of Anuradh ...

located near Thammannakulama. Nuwara Wewa is situated in the middle of Thammannakulama. Modern Anuradhapura City was created by the people of Thammannakulama, and is a

Buddhist 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 ...

town.

Ancient City

As the heart of Anuradhapura, Thammannakulama attained its highest magnificence around the commencement of the Christian era. In its prime it ranked beside Nineveh and Babylon in its colossal proportions — its four walls, each 16 miles (26 km) long, enclosed an area of 256 square miles (663 km²) — in the number of its inhabitants, and the splendour of its shrines and public edifices. The city also had some of the most complex irrigation systems of the ancient world. Situated in the dry zone of the country the administration built many tanks to irrigate the land. Most of these tanks still survive. To date, it is believed that some of these tanks are the oldest surviving reservoirs in the world today.

Growth of City

The city's popularity grew both as a ritual centre and as an administrative centre. A large population was attracted to the city for permanent settlement. Thus living facilities were improved to accommodate the expanding population. King

Vasabha Vasabha ( Sinhala: ) was a monarch of the Anuradhapura period of Sri Lanka. He is considered to be the pioneer of the construction of large-scale irrigation works and underground waterways in Sri Lanka to support paddy cultivation. 11 reservoirs a ...

constructed many ponds which were fed by a network of subterranean channels constructed to supply water to the city. The Tissa and Abhayavapi tanks were built, Nuwara weva was built and the Malwatu Oya was dammed to build the

Nachchaduwa wewa Nachchaduwa wewa (Also known as Mahadaragala Reservoir) is a reservoir near Thammannakulama, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South ...

of 4,408 acres (17.84 km²).

Notable people

*King

Buddhadasa Buddhadasa (27 May 190625 May 1993) was a Thai Buddhist monk. Known as an innovative reinterpreter of Buddhist doctrine and Thai folk beliefs, he fostered a reformation in conventional religious perceptions in his home country, Thailand, as w ...

Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Sri Lanka Populated places in Anuradhapura District {{SriLanka-hist-stub