The Citadel of Anuradhapura, the first capital of Sri Lanka which remained the seat of government for centuries, is symbolic of the golden era of Sri Lanka.

With the embrace of Buddhism by the King Devanampiyatissa in the 3rd century B.C, Buddhism received royal patronage and support. As a result, Anuradhapura remains a city that resembles the ancient culture and architecture intermingled with Buddhism.

Isurumuniya houses the most picturesque shrine of Anuradhapura, situated on a rock that gives a magnificent view of the surroundings and a collection of high relief sculptures of the 8 th Century. Religious and secular art and architecture, sculptures, paintings and inscriptions have survived for over 15 centuries.

Of the many remarkable pieces of sculpture, the Isurumuniya Lovers, a lively scene of a group of elephants in a pond and a figure of a man and a horse carved on a rock boulder are accepted as unique creations.

Sri Maha Bodhi, the sacred Bo Tree is a sapling of the Bo tree under which the Lord Buddha attained enlightenment. The sacred bo tree was brought to Sri Lanka by the princess Sangamitta, a Buddhist nun, as a symbol to express the feelings of devotion when king Devanampiyatissa embraced Buddhism.

The Brazen Palace, the residence for monks, was originally built by the King Dutugemunu in the 3rd Century B.C in the royal park, Mahamegha Uyana, which was granted by the King Devanampiyatissa for the monks. The copper tiles unearthed during the recent excavations implies that the roof of this nine storied palace was covered with copper plates, and hence the name. The

palace was supported on 1,800 columns.

Ruwanweliseya, built in the 144 B.C. by the great warrior King Dutugemunu has a height of 300 ft and a diameter of 289 ft. The Stupa is the oldest but the smallest of the three giant edifices in brick in the world. The elephant wall surrounding the Stupa, is a repeated design in Thailand, Burma and other countries of the East where Buddhism was taught by the Sri Lankan priests.

The shrine room in the courtyard of the stupa has standing Buddha from the 8 th century repaired and renovated from time to time.

The Moonstone or the Sandakadapahana, is a unique feature in the Sinhala Architecure. This is a semi circular stone doorstep set up at the entrance to a stupa or a vihara. The most excuisite of these are identified to be from Anuradhapura while almost the same features can be seen in the Polonnaruwa as well. The center of the moonstone is a half lotus. Proceeding outwards are bands of motifs,

processions of geese, foliage and the four beasts – elephants, lion, horse and bull.

The Samadhi Buddha, a sculpture of 3rd Century A.D, is considered to be a masterpiece of Sinhala sculpture. The statue gained international recognition after the Indian Prime Minister, Sri Jawaharlal Nehru has described the statue for bringing him solace by looking at a photograph of this statue during his imprisonment by the British.

Twin Ponds, or the ‘Kuttam Pokuna' as mostly known by the Sri Lankans, is another unique creation of the ancient architecture. As the name implies, the creation includes two ponds with intricately carved staircases, punkalas adorning the two ponds and Naga guard stones placed at the entrances. These ponds have been built to collect water for the monks of the Abhayagiri vihara. If carefully

examined it shows that the two ponds differ from its size and features. It is believed that the water for these ponds have been supplied from one of the three large reservoirs in Anuradhapura – Tissawewa, Nuwarawerwa and Basawakkulama which hold as the evidence for the advanced irrigation system that existed during the Anuradhapura kingdom.