Sigiriya, also called Sinhagiri (Lion Rock), is an ancient rock fortress located in the northern Matale District near Dambulla in Sri Lanka’s Central Province. It is a place of great historical and archaeological importance, featuring a large granite rock column about 180 meters (590 feet) high.

According to the ancient Sri Lankan record, the Cūḷavaṃsa, this area was once a forest. After storms and landslides changed the land into a hill, King Kashyapa (477–495 CE) chose it as his new capital. He built a palace on top of the rock and decorated its sides with colorful paintings. On a small flat area halfway up the rock, he constructed a gateway shaped like a large lion. The name "Sinhagiri," meaning "Lion Rock," comes from this structure.

After the king died, the palace and capital were abandoned. The site was later used as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century. Today, Sigiriya is a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site. It is one of the best-preserved examples of ancient city planning.

Geology

Sigiriya Rock rises suddenly from the flat plains near the central mountain range of Sri Lanka. It is a type of rock formation made of hard granite that formed from cooled lava from a volcano.

Pidurangala Rock, located 1 kilometer to the north, has a similar formation and origin.

History

The area around Sigiriya was likely inhabited since ancient times. Evidence from Brahmi inscriptions on the western side of Sigiriya shows that rock shelters and caves nearby were used by Buddhist monks and spiritual people as early as the 1st or 2nd century BCE. The earliest signs of human life at Sigiriya are found at the Aligala rock shelter to the east of the main rock, which dates back to around 3000 BCE during the Mesolithic Period.

Buddhist monastic communities were built on the western and northern slopes of the boulder-covered hills around Sigiriya during the 3rd century BCE. Many rock shelters and caves were created during this time. These shelters were built under large rocks, with carved drip ledges around their entrances. Rock inscriptions near the drip ledges on many shelters record that these spaces were donated to Buddhist monks as homes. These inscriptions date from the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE.

The Cūḷavaṃsa, an ancient text, describes how in 477 CE, Kashyapa I, the son of King Dhatusena and a non-royal woman, took over the throne with the help of Migara, the king’s nephew and army commander. Kashyapa trapped his father inside a wall and killed him, then took the throne from his half-brother Moggallana, who fled to South India and promised to return for revenge.

Expecting Moggallana’s return, Kashyapa moved the capital from Anuradhapura to the summit of Sigiriya for safety. During his reign (477–495 CE), Sigiriya was transformed into a city and fortress. Most of the structures on the rock, such as defensive walls, palaces, and gardens, were built during this time.

When Moggallana returned, he attacked and defeated Kashyapa in 495 CE. During the battle, Kashyapa’s army abandoned him, and he committed suicide by cutting his own throat. According to the Cūḷavaṃsa and folklore, the war elephant Kashyapa rode changed direction during the battle, but his army thought this meant he was retreating. This led the army to leave him. Kashyapa refused to surrender, took a dagger from his waist, cut his throat, and died. Moggallana later moved the capital back to Anuradhapura and turned Sigiriya into a Buddhist monastery, which remained until the 13th or 14th century. No records about Sigiriya exist until the 16th and 17th centuries, when it was briefly used as a military outpost by the Kingdom of Kandy.

Some stories say King Dhatusena built Sigiriya, with Kashyapa completing the work to honor his father. Others describe Kashyapa as a king who built Sigiriya as a personal palace. His death is also uncertain in some accounts, with versions claiming he was poisoned by a concubine or killed himself. Some interpretations suggest Sigiriya was built by a Buddhist community and not used for military purposes. The site may have been important in the historical competition between the Mahayana and Theravada Buddhist traditions in ancient Sri Lanka.

Archaeological remains and features

In 1831, Major Jonathan Forbes of the British Army’s 78th (Highlanders) Regiment saw the "brushwood-covered summit of the rock of Sigiri" while riding back from Pollonnuruwa. This discovery made Sigiriya known to people who study ancient history and later to archaeologists. Small-scale archaeological work at Sigiriya began in the 1890s. H.C.P. Bell was the first archaeologist to do major research on Sigiriya. In 1982, the Cultural Triangle Project, started by the government of Sri Lanka, focused on Sigiriya. For the first time, this project studied the entire city. A carved lion’s head once stood above the legs and paws near the entrance, but it fell apart many years ago.

Sigiriya is an ancient citadel built by King Kashyapa in the 5th century. The site includes the ruins of an upper palace on the flat top of the rock, a mid-level terrace with the Lion Gate and the mirror wall decorated with frescoes, and lower palaces that are attached to the rock’s slopes. The palace’s moats, walls, and gardens stretched for several hundred meters from the rock’s base. The site served as both a palace and a fortress. The upper palace has cisterns carved into the rock.

Sigiriya is one of the most important examples of urban planning from the first millennium. Its design is seen as very detailed and creative. The plan combined symmetrical and asymmetrical shapes to connect human-made structures with natural features. On the rock’s west side is a royal park designed with symmetry. It includes water-retaining structures, such as advanced surface and underground water systems, some of which still work today. To the south is a man-made reservoir, which was widely used from the previous capital of Sri Lanka’s dry zone. Five gates were built at the entrances. The more detailed western gate was likely used only by royalty.

Frescoes

In 1907, John Still wrote, "The entire hill seems to have been a huge art gallery… possibly the largest painting in the world." The paintings likely covered most of the western side of the rock, an area 140 meters (460 feet) long and 40 meters (130 feet) high. Graffiti mentions 500 women in these paintings, though most have been lost. Other frescoes, different from those on the rock face, are found elsewhere, such as on the ceiling of a place called the "Cobra Hood Cave."

Although these frescoes are classified as part of the Anuradhapura period, their style is unique. The lines and painting techniques differ from those used in Anuradhapura art. The lines are painted to create the illusion of depth in the figures. Paint was applied with wide strokes, using more pressure on one side to make the colors appear deeper at the edges. Other paintings from the Anuradhapura period use similar methods but have clear outlines, unlike the sketchy lines of the Sigiriya style. The true identity of the women in the paintings remains unknown. Some believe they were royal women, while others think they were women participating in religious activities. These paintings closely resemble those found in the Ajanta Caves in India.

On October 14, 1967, paint was splashed on the frescoes in an act of vandalism. Luciano Maranzi, an expert trained in Rome, helped restore the damage, which was completed on April 11, 1968. This effort was considered the most difficult task by the Chemical Preservation Division of the Department of Archaeology. Concerns about the fading of the original colors continue. A report from 2010 noted that the 22 frescoes have been losing color since 1930.

Mirror wall

This wall was originally so shiny that the king could see his reflection as he walked near it. Built with bricks and covered in smooth white plaster, the wall now has some parts covered with writings left by visitors. Some of these writings are from as early as the 800s, but most are from the 900s and 1000s. People from many different backgrounds, including poets, government officials, and housewives, wrote on the wall. These writings are the only known examples of poetry from the Anuradhapura period.

ඇසිමි දුන් හසුන් හසුන් සෙයින් විල් දුත්
Aesimi dun hasun hasun seyin vil dut
Like geese who have seen a lake, I listened to the message given by her.

මුල ලා මා සැනැහි පුල් පියුමන් සේය් බමර් දුත්
Mula la ma saenaehi pul piyuman sey bamar dut
Like a bee who has seen full-blown lotuses, the confused heart of mine was comforted.

This poem uses wordplay, such as combining "hasun" (message) with "hasun" (swans). The poet compares his eagerness to hear from his love to a bee's interest in lotus flowers, which have large petals that help the bee land and drink nectar.

Out of more than 1,500 poems, most were written to the women shown in the frescoes. Men praised their beauty, and women expressed their jealousy. One woman, who did not like the frescoes, wrote: "A deer-eyed girl from the mountains makes me angry. She holds a necklace of pearls, and her eyes challenge me."

Writing on the mirror wall is now banned to protect the old writings. The Archaeological Commissioner of Ceylon, Senarath Paranavithana, read and translated 685 verses from the 800s, 900s, and 1000s. One poem from that time, translated from ancient Sinhala, says: "I am Budal [the writer's name]. I came with hundreds of people to see Sigiriya. Since everyone else wrote poems, I did not!"

Gardens

The gardens of Sigiriya are among the oldest designed gardens in the world. These gardens are divided into three different types: water gardens, cave and boulder gardens, and terraced gardens.

Senake Bandaranayake describes three styles of garden design at Sigiriya: the balanced or geometric water gardens; the uneven or natural-looking cave and boulder gardens; and the stepped or terraced gardens at the base of the central rock. He explains that the palace garden on top of the rock combines these three styles. He notes that the layout of Sigiriya blends ideas of balance and natural shapes, combining planned designs with natural features. The garden design includes both planned and natural elements, such as the Sigiriya rock itself, the terraced hill around the rock, and man-made features like boulder gardens, curved streams, and waterfalls. These gardens also include views of the surrounding Kandalama mountains and Matale ranges. According to Ellepola, the water in the gardens was moved using systems that rely on gravity, allowing water to flow gently to lower areas where it was needed.

The water gardens are located in the central part of the western area. Three main gardens are found here. The first garden is surrounded by water and connected to the main area by four paths, each with a gateway at its start.

The second garden has two long, deep pools on either side of a path. Two shallow, curved streams lead to these pools. Fountains made of circular limestone plates are placed here. Water from underground tunnels still flows to these fountains, especially during the rainy season. Two large islands are on either side of the second garden. Summer palaces are built on flat areas of these islands. Two more islands are located farther north and south. These islands are built in a way similar to the islands in the first garden.

The third garden is higher than the other two. It includes a large, octagonal pool with a raised platform on its northeast corner. A large wall made of brick and stone from the citadel is on the eastern edge of this garden.

The water gardens are arranged symmetrically along an east-west line. A moat on the west connects them to a large artificial lake south of the Sigiriya rock. All the pools are linked by an underground network of tunnels fed by the lake and connected to the moats. A smaller water garden, with several small pools and water channels, is located west of the first garden. This garden was likely built after the Kashyapan period, between the 10th and 13th centuries.

The boulder gardens include several large rocks connected by winding paths. These gardens stretch from the northern to the southern slopes of the hills at the base of Sigiriya rock. Many of these rocks had buildings or pavilions on them. Some rocks had cuttings used as supports for brick walls and beams. These rocks were once pushed down from the top to attack enemies who approached.

The terraced gardens are built from the natural hill at the base of the Sigiriya rock. A series of terraces rise from the paths of the boulder garden to the staircases on the rock. These terraces were created by building brick walls and are arranged in a roughly circular pattern around the rock. A limestone staircase forms the path through the terraced gardens. From this staircase, a covered path runs along the side of the rock, leading to the highest terrace where the lion staircase is located.