| Metadata | |
|---|---|
| Object ID | OB03009 |
| Title | Vessagiri Rock B Cave 3 |
| Subtitle | |
| Inscription(s) | IN03011 |
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| Responsibility | |
| Author | Don Martino de Zilva Wickremasinghe |
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| Description | |
| Material | Rock / gneiss |
| Object Type | Cave |
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| Details | A cave underneath the west and south-west sides of a rounded boulder towards the northern end of Rock B at Vessagiri. This boulder (which is approximately 7.6 cm high) stands to the south-west of the Cave 1 and Cave 2 boulders (see OB03007 and OB03008) and is separated from the Cave 2 boulder by a wedge-shaped rock. Above the cave, the boulder slopes upwards at an angle of 45 degrees. There is a single dripline along the brow of the cave, which does not quite reach the north end. Underneath the dripline is an inscription. |
| History | |
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| Place | Vessagiri |
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| Place | Vessagiri |
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| Details | Vessagiri, or more commonly in Sinhalese Vessagiriya, is the traditional name of a forest-bound cluster of rocks in Anurādhapura. The site features three hummock-boulders of gneiss rock in a line from north to south (Rock A, Rock B and Rock C). The hummocks are surrounded by the ruins of a monastery, which had its cells in the caves of Rocks B and C (twenty-three caves in total). Some of the caves are inscribed with dedications to the Buddhist priesthood. The site is traditionally identified as that of Vessagiri Vihāra, stated to have been built by King Dēvānampiya Tissa in the third century B.C. This identification is supported by the probable age of the cave inscriptions, the style of the ruined buildings and the relative position of the site, in respect to the neighbouring Isurumuṇiya (Issarasamaṇaka) Vihāra, also built by Dēvānampiya Tissa. |
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