Sigiriya
, also known as Lion Mountain is a rock
fortress built by king Kashyapa in 5th Century
AD. The remains of the royal palace along
with the royal swimming pool could be seen
on the summit, which is about 300metres
above sea level covering about 3 hectares.
Royal pleasure
gardens : These are supposed to be
one of the earliest extended landscaped
gardens in Asia. It is evident that these
gardens have been geometrically planned.
The ancient hydraulic system, which supplied
water to fountains in the garden, was discovered
recently and restored by local engineers.
Now the fountains are functioning as smoothly
as they did 1500 years ago.
Paintings also
known as frescoes : These paintings
dates back to the 5th Century are located
in a depression on the rock face about
100 meters above ground level .It is believed
these paintings depict the ''apsaras''
or goddess and some says it represent
the lightning and clouds, so fulfilling
king Kashyapa's wish to look his palace
on the summit as the celestial abode where
Kashyapa would rule the country like a
god himself.
Mirror Wall:
Another distinctive feature of the Sigiriya
and it located just below the paintings,
surface of this wall is well polished
and cover with the writing known as ''Sigiri
graffiti'' which are in form of poems.
The poems were written by the people who
visited place since 7th Century expressing
their amazement about the paintings ,
and about the whole place.
The Lion staircase:
This will lead to the summit, and special
feature of this is the massive Lion Paw,
which is carved out of rock. The brick
wall is still preserved in original form.
Sigiriya is being currently excavated
and restored by UNESCO under the Cultural
Triangle Project and according to the
sources is most likely to be declared
as a wonder of the world.
|