Locations & Archeological Sites ‹‹ Go Back

In October 2016, I visited an archaeological site at Karambakulama, situated between Tala Wila and Galge Viharaya. The site is notable for two surviving features:

• A seated Buddha statue
• Eighteen granite pillars surrounding the statue

Like many archaeological sites I have visited in Wilpattu, Karambakulama has suffered from the actions of treasure hunters. It was distressing to see that the head and parts of the arms of the seated Buddha statue had been destroyed.

According to my guide, Dinesh Kumara, the site was discovered by officers from the Department of Wildlife Conservation by chance while they were conducting a raid.
During the war with the LTTE, members of the armed forces had come across several similar sites where statues had remained unharmed. One such statue, found at close to the Paaluwilandawa tank is now placed at the Hunuwilagama park entrance. Unfortunately, the Karambakulama statue did not survive in the same condition.

I was unable to find information about the history of this site during my archaeological literature survey or in discussions with officers of the National Museum. However, the surviving remains suggest that it may once have formed part of a monastic building.
Given its relative proximity to Galge Viharaya, Karambakulama may also have belonged to a larger monastic complex in ancient times.