| General – Department of Archaeology in Sri Lanka | ||
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Sri Lanka has a recorded history of more than 2500 years. Our cultural Heritage has grown with the introduction of Buddhism in 3rd century BC. The Department of Archaeology is the organization responsible for all the archaeological activities i.e. preservation and restoration of cultural assets in Sri Lanka. Any other institution/person that wishes to involve in archaeological activities should get appropriate authority from the Department of Archaeology. Funds has been allocated for the preservation of cultural assets by the annual budget in Sri Lanka. This amount has directly transferred by the annual budget of Sri Lankan Government to the Department of Archaeology. In addition, several other institutions also invest money for the protection of the cultural heritage. In addition to the Department of Archaeology, University of Moratuwa (Faculty of Architecture), Post Graduate Institute of Archaeology and Central Cultural Fund are participating the conservation, research and educational activities in archaeology. The Department of Archaeology has maintained a major museum in Anuradhapura, the ancient capital city and 18 other site museums in island wide to exhibit the archaeological findings as well as other cultural properties, in addition to the Colombo museum operated by the Department of Museum. The Central Cultural Fund, a separate institution also carries out archaeological conservation work with foreign funds and UNESCO assistances. They conduct conservation work at five sites all of which are world heritage sites, such as Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa, Jetawana and Abhayagiri monastic complexes in Anuradhapura under the authorization of Department of Archaeology. |
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| Activities | ||
| In order to achieve the above objectives and functions and easy handling of work, the activities of the Archaeological Department have organized under the following projects. | ||
| 1. | Exploration and Documentation | |
| 2. | Excavation and Museum Service | |
| 3. | Maintenance of Monuments and Sites | |
| 4. | Architectural Conservation of Monuments and Layout of Sites | |
| 5. | Chemical Conservation of Cultural Property | |
| 6. | Epigraphy and Numismatics | |
| 7. | General Services : Photographic service, publications, laboratory, issuing permits, library facilities etc. | |
| 8. | Administration Section | |
| 9. | Finance Section | |
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As mentioned in the mission statement, the Department of Archaeology functions as the Sri Lanka’s apex body for the better management of its archaeological heritage sites, monuments and antiquities of Prehistoric and historic periods which have archaeological importance, within Sri Lanka and its territorial sea. Also, the department conducts research on them and publishes data for the public awareness. Concerning the archaeological heritage, this comprises several hundred thousand sites, monuments and movable antiquities, which need a proper policy for their better management. This necessitates the formulation of a National Archaeological Policy for the country, aiming at developing the present setup of the department. |
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