Archaeologists are investigating the possible existence of an ancient kingdom in the Vakarai area of the Batticaloa district after some historic monuments were unearthed there this week.
Police have also tightened security to preserve the sites.
Vakarai Divisional Secretary R. Rahulanayagi said a group digging up an area in the Kayankerni division to find ancient treasures had stumbled upon the monuments.
Ms. Rahulanayagi said she visited the site, accompanied by a police team, after being tipped off by alert Kayankerni residents about suspicious activities by a group there.
“We saw a 2,000-square-feet building dug by the group. Also, this building appeared to be a valuable historic monument,” she added.
They also found five square feet sized stone pillars, measuring around nine feet in height, she added.
These types of valuable sculptures and monuments are believed to be scattered around 70 acres of land in the area, she said, adding that many places had already been dug up in the area. “We found a sculpture of a holy pot and a moon stone. Also, we are assuming that the 2,000-square-feet building could be a cultural monument belonging to pre-historic days.” the officer added. “There is evidence for possible existence of such structures up to the Kayankerni Dam.”
She said an ancient kingdom might have existed at the site, adding that the people could not reach those areas for a long time because of the war.
The officer said people would be allowed to visit those sites after the inquiries were completed.
Ms Rahulanayagi also said four officers from the regional archaeological department, who visited the site, had agreed to submit a research report after a month.
They would focus on finding the exact age of the excavated items.
Police have arrested two suspects in connection with the case and were to be produced before the Valaichenai court.
Ranjith Samson, the technical officer of the eastern province archaeological department, said that they would step up their research after receiving the police report.
He said that it was too early to comment on the age of the excavated monuments.
Samson also said the suspects could be charged with non-bailable offences if researchers found that the monuments belonged to a ‘very old’ historic period such as the Anuradhapura era. |
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