SinhaRaja Tammita-Delgoda, in Island, 6 April 2019, where the title is “A Journey to the Heart of Our Civilization. In Search of the Malwatu Oya”
The second longest river in Sri Lanka (102 miles), the Malwatu River is also the most historic. Connecting the northwest coast with the city of Anuradhapura, the capital of the country for over 15 centuries, it is of enormous significance to the story of civilization in Lanka. Starting from the holy mountain of Ritigala, the Malwatu Oya flows across the face of the Raja Rata to enter the Bay of Mannar, near Arippu. As it nears the sea, it becomes the Aruvi Aru. The second largest river basin in Sri Lanka, it lies at the very heart of Sri Lanka’s ancient past.
We kept travelling every day, from morning till night, still along by the river side, which turned and winded… Here and there, by the side of this river is a world of stone pillars, standing upright and other heaps of hewn stones, which I suppose formerly were buildings: and in three or four places are the ruins of bridges, built of stone: some remains of them yet standing upon stone pillars. In many places are points built into the river like wharves, all of hewn stone… ” … An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon (1681) – Robert Knox
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