-1 101 Z Lost to the jungles after its abandonment in the 11th century AD, Anuradhapura was rediscovered by 19th century explorers who traced the outline of its city walls and revealed its ancient Buddhist shrines and monasteries. Recent work has concentrated on laying bare the history of the residential area of the city, capital of the island for more than a thousand years.
# city zoom - opening PW
13 101 X Around 500 BC, a village of substantial round huts existed here belonging to people who kept cattle, worked iron and perhaps cultivated the land. Like their contemporaries in south India, they buried their dead in various types of megalithic tombs (though none have been found at Anuradhapura itself).
#Iron Age Anuradhapura
3 101 X Traditionally a settlement was founded here followers of Vijaya, the legendary North Indian prince, and rebuilt by Pandukabhaya, a 4th century ruler. Earthen ramparts here, begun in the 4th century BC according to excavated evidence, were perhaps those built by Pandukabhaya.
#Vijayan Anuradhapura
11 101 X In the 3rd century BC, King Devanampiya Tissa built the Mahapali, a royal alms hall, to provide food for Buddhist monks. Like other refectories in the city's monasteries, it consisted of a plain pillared hall with sunken courtyard containing a massive stone trough for rice, perhaps 50 ft (17 m) long.
#Mahapali, Massive trough in monastery refectory
14 101 X Recent excavations have revealed part of the ancient city including typical Sri Lankan houses with verandas and tiled or thatched roofs, dated around 300 BC. The objects found here show that the city was manufacturing a wide range of craft products and trading with Greeks and Indians.
