Archaeology Dept. to take over Sampur Chetiya area for preservation

30 December 2017 10:16 am

The entire land area, where the Sudaikuda Chetiya at Sampur in Trincomalee was located would be taken over by the Archaeology Department shortly for preservation, Director General of Archeology Prof. P.B. Mandawela said yesterday.

Prof. Mandawela said it was a lapse on the part of the Government as there was no plan to conserve, historical, religious and archaeology sites in the North East until 2015, though the civil war ended in 2015.

“The destruction caused to the ancient Chetiya at Sampur was detected during a survey conducted by the Archeology Department in its project carried out to identify religious and archaeology sites in the East,” he said.

The Chetiya and its surrounding area had been destroyed before the Department declared it as an archaeologically and historically important site,” he said.

“Further survey and excavations would be carried out after the Archeology Department took over the site, as it has been established that the Sampur Chetiya, is an ancient and historically important site. The Police are conducting investigations to apprehend those who are responsible for the destructions,” he said.

“In Sri Lanka, there are nearly 250,000 sites of religiously, culturally and archaeologically important belonging to all communities and religions and the Department of Archeology was committed to protect, preserve and maintain them for the future generation,” he stressed. (Sandun A Jayasekera)