| Metadata | |
|---|---|
| Object ID | OB03141 |
| Title | Anurādhapura Stone Steps near ‘Burrows’ Pavilion’ |
| Subtitle | |
| Inscription(s) | IN03172 IN03173 IN03174 IN03175 IN03176 IN03177 IN03178 IN03179 |
| Child Object | |
| Parent Object | |
| Related Objects | |
| Responsibility | |
| Author | Senarath Paranavitana |
| Metadata recorded by | |
| Authority for metadata | |
| Metadata improved by | |
| Authoriy for improved | |
| Description | |
| Material | Stone / unspecified |
| Object Type | steps |
| Dimensions: | |
| Width | 4.57 m |
| Height | |
| Depth | |
| Weight | |
| Details | A flight of stone steps leading to a ruined shrine near the reconstructed porch known as ‘the Stone Canopy’ or ‘Burrows’ Pavilion’ in the area of the Abhayagiri vihara at Anurādhapura. The flight of steps is fifteen feet (4.57 m) in breadth and originally consisted of six treads, each made from two pieces of stone. Eight legible inscriptions – numbered 1 to 8 by Senarath Paranavitana – are incised on the steps. Nos. 1, 2 and 3 are incised on the right-hand piece of the first tread from the bottom. No. 1 (IN03172) occupies the left-hand side of this stone. No. 2 (IN03173) is engraved to the right of No. 1 and No. 3 (IN03174) is immediately below No. 2. No space has been left between the ends of the lines of No. 1 and the beginnings of those of Nos. 2 and 3, making it appear at first glance as if the writing on this stone comprised a single inscription, rather than three distinct records. No. 4 (IN03175) is engraved on the left-hand stone of the second tread. Nos. 5, 6 and 7 are engraved on the left-hand stone of the fourth tread. No. 5 (IN03176) is immediately above No. 6 (IN03177) and No. 7 (IN03178) is to the right of these two. No. 8 is engraved on the right-hand stone of the fourth tread. Traces of other inscriptions, now illegible, can be seen on several of the treads, including on the extreme right of the left-hand stone of the fourth tread and on the right-hand stone of the same tread. |
| History | |
| Created: | |
| Date | |
| Place | |
| Other ancient history | |
| Found: | |
| Date | |
| Place | Abhayagiri Vihāra |
| Other modern history | |
| Latest: | |
| Date | |
| Place | Abhayagiri Vihāra |
| Authority | Paranavitana, S. (1934–41). ‘No. 16. Inscriptions on the Steps near ‘Burrows’ Pavilion’ at Anurādhapura,’ Epigraphia Zeylanica 4, pp. 136–141. |
| Details | The inscriptions on the steps were first published for scholarship by Senarath Paranavitana in the fourth volume of Epigraphia Zeylanica (1934–41: 136–141, no. 16). |
| Notes | Three inscribed stone slabs (OB03022, OB03041 and OB03042) were found in the area of the steps in the late nineteenth century. |