Gothami Meepe, text of a verbal presentation presented here with underlining emphasis imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
Viewers of the Zoom lecture organised by Heritage Alliance Lanka were captivated as the Maritime Archaeologist, Mr. Amalka Wijesuriya, unfolded the treasurers hidden underwater around our island of Sri Lanka. Amalka is a Lecturer of History & Archaeology at the University of Ruhuna and hails from the historic town of Ambalangoda. His parents had often pointed out historical carvings and drawings in the area, creating a strong interest in Sri Lankan history within him. The renowned Archaeologist, Prof. Senaka Bandaranayake’s influence during his university days, had created a special interest in the history of the Galle Port and the heritage buried in our ocean.
He pointed out that at present, 108 shipwrecks have been found around Sri Lanka with the latest one having been discovered very recently around the Colombo port. This amazing figure shows what a busy maritime hub we have been in the past. There were many ports all
around the island and evidence of ancient divers from the prehistoric ages bringing back various underwater treasures. Maritime trade was prevalent in the Iron Age with Carnelian beads from India arriving in Sri Lanka and Chinese silk being mentioned in the Sigiriya ‘Kurutu Gee’ in the 9 th century.
We understood that with modern Remote Sensing Survey methods, it is possible to scanlarge areas underwater, but a maritime archaeologist needs to dive deep under the sea, to physically examine and excavate artefacts. Therefore, they need to be licenced scuba divers
as well. The limited time that you can spend underwater when you dive deep, means that you have minutes rather than hours to gather evidence and collect material. The methods used for this work, such as hand fanning and dredging, which uses a small hand-held dredge,
were shown via video footage and the audience could see the difficulty and the hazards connected with this work.
The Mantai Port, connected to the ancient Anuradhapura kingdom, had been a bustling international maritime hub. The Galle Port was a major port for the Portuguese, Dutch and the British from the 14th century onward. Therefore, it is quite certain, that there must be a
great deal of evidence about our history hidden in the ocean.
Amalka spoke of the better-known shipwrecks around Sri Lanka. The Avondster (1659), in the Bay of Galle sank when the anchor failed to hold. An interesting story behind this is that only the captain was authorised to allow the second anchor to be dropped but he was
asleep when the anchor dragged and was too late to save the ship from running aground. There were other stories of interest with this shipwreck and the many artefacts found there are now in the Galle Maritime Museum.
SS Rangoon (1871) is another shipwreck around Galle. Amalka was sad to note that many of the artefacts from this ship are now on sale in antique shops. These are often taken illegally and sold to traders and it is very difficult to control this situation. Any artefacts taken from
the sea need to be handed over to the Archaeology Department.
However, people take them home and claim it is inherited from their ancestors as it is legal to own those handed down the generations but it is illegal to take artefacts out of the country.
He then spoke about the ‘SS Indus’. It ran aground in 1885 carrying priceless cargo. Alexander Cunningham loaded this ship with many treasures including the Bharhut scriptures, carvings from Bharhut, as well as gold and gems to be shipped to England. However, it is very difficult to find the artefacts as the ship is buried very deep in the sea.
Many shipwrecks have also been discovered around the Great Basses and Little Basses. Arthur C Clarke and his friends discovered the shipwreck, now known as The Silver Coin shipwreck, and found large numbers of silver coins. The coins were minted by Sha Jahan’s
son, Sha Alam 1 in 1702 and silver coins still surface from this wreck.
The Copper wreck and the Bottle wreck are other well-known shipwrecks and many of the coins, bottles and otherartefacts can be seen in the Galle Maritime Museum.
Apart from the shipwrecks, there are sculptures from the Koneshwaram Kovil at Swami Rock, sunk in the sea of Trincomalee. Many tourists come here to dive and are shown recently dumped sculptures while the authentic sculptures from the Portuguese period are found deeper in the sea and those recovered have been placed in the Galle Maritime Museum.
We learned that the ancient port of Gotapabbatha, which dates back between 1AD- 2AD, and mentioned in the Mahavansa, was discovered in Godawaya, Hambantota in 1994. Photos of the stone pillars from the ancient jetty were shown along with the ancient rock- inscriptions regarding maritime activities. The well-known Godavaya shipwreck was spotte by 2 divers from the area, Preminda & Sunil. They spotted something unusual and brought it
to the attention of the archaeologists. The maritime archaeologists discovered the shipwreck and excavated pots from Megalithic times as well as stone, steel and copper tools. There were also many beads including Indian Carnelian and glass ingots which were
meant for making jewellery. The Godavaya excavation was very successful and all the artifacts will be showcased in the Galle Maritime Museum, once they finish a school education program.
Amalka also outlined another important aspect of their work, which is underwater archaeological impact assessments. This was done before Colombo Port City construction, when they assessed around 500 acres using side scan sonar in deep water. They found the British governor’s pool now known as the Governor’s Bath. The entrance to the Port City is now built on top of the bath allowing it to be preserved.
They also checked the famed Adam’s Bridge but haven’t been able to determine whether it is a man-made structure. The ocean conditions around that area make diving very difficult.
We found out that maritime archaeology involves huge team work among many departments and individuals. We felt the passion he had for his work and realised they overcome many difficulties to retrieve and protect our submerged legacy.
The full lecture in on our YouTube channel and can be viewed following this link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCnq84KAszU&t=504s
Gothami Meepe ……….. Heritage Alliance Lanka
Website: https://heritalliance.org/?bypass_code=wtZJkBHIFvSxbjfd#
Heritage Alliance Lanka is a non-profit organisation headquartered in Melbourne. Our members come from across all continents and come together to support the discovery and preservation of our heritage and disseminate this knowledge to a global audience.
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ALSO NOTE
- https://hss.ruh.ac.lk/staff/amalka
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Maritime_Museum_(Galle)
- https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297896-d13795631-Reviews-Maritime_Archeological_Museum_Galle-Galle_Gal
- https://thuppahis.com/2020/06/18/an-underwater-museum-at-galle-initiated-by-the-sl-navy/
- https://thuppahis.com/2017/09/28/striking-views-of-galle-fort-as-heritage-site/
