Details about Sigiriya, the most famous ancient site in Sri Lanka...
Sigiriya is a Mountain range in the Kimbissa area of matale District, near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province of Sri Lanka.
It is a site of historical and archaeological importance dominated by a massive rock column approximately 180m high.
Legend has it that Sigiriya was built by King Kashyapa. The Sigiriya fortress has a long history and has been the sunject of various opinions by different people.
According to the Kulavansa, an ancient Sri Lanka chronicle, this area was once a large forest, but later, due to storms and landslides, it beacame a mountain, which king kashyapa chose for his new capital.
He built his palace on top of this rock and decorated its sides with colorful murals.
About halfway up this rock, on a small plateau, he built a gate in the shapes of a huge lion.The name of this place is dervied from the name Sinhagiri, Lion Rock.
Sigiriya is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is one of the best preserved examples of ancient urban planning. |
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