At a height of about 1514 meters, there are ruins of a construction site which is considered to be a historic palace on the government land called “Campbell’s Lane Foreset Reserve” in the Knuckles Reserve in association with the areas of Panvila and Hunnasgiriya in the Kandy District.
This historic heritage, which is being destroyed day by day, is a marvelous creation that showcases the past strengths of the Sri Lankans and the patriotism of a nation. However, it is unfortunate that neither the people of the hill country nor the responsible Archaeological Department have taken action to preserve this historical heritage and pass it on to future generations. Instead of protecting the place, some inhabitants of the upcountry have destroyed the place’s valuable resources and the place is now a treasure hunter’s paradise. Anyone who visits here will see that Sri Lankan archeology has not yet had the feel or knowledge to display at least one plaque stating that the land belongs to archeology.
History states that King Senarath, who was the king of Senkadagala from 1604 to 1634 AD, built the palace on this hill. The ancient inhabitants of central Kandy say that parts of the very strong stone walls scattered here belong to that palace. Legend has it that the ancients called this palace the “Sky Palace” because it kisses the sky from the bottom of the mountain. History states that there was a royal pond with this palace and a secret tunnel to this palace on the Medamahanuwara hill from the back of a waterfall in the village of Bomure from the royal palace.
There are various legends about this mountain and the king and although it has been explored by different people, the Department of Archeology has remained silent and there has long been talk among the public that this could be a contract to destroy a country’s heritage.
In addition, he has authored a book titled ‘Maga Digata Janakatha’. P. Mr. Wickramasinghe has made an important revelation about the royal palace. A very faint photograph of a museum in England is presented in the book of folklore along this route. It is mentioned on the front page of the book and it is pointed out that one copy of the photograph is currently in the Central Kandy Temple. It is said that the copy was brought by the late Ven. Peelasse Aththadassi Thero who was the Chief Incumbent of the Medamahanuwara Rajamaha Viharaya.
Picture 01. A very old painting that is believed to be in the old palace in a British museum.
Niroshan Edirisinghe, a photographer with the amazing lanka website that has gone to the top of the mountain, has also made notes about this and Mr. Palitha Madugalle of Hunnasgiriya and Mr. SPS Weerasinghe have been reporting on the historical value of this mountain for decades.
Picture No. 02 – Ruins of what is believed to be an ancient palace at the top of the Hunnasgiri hill.
Picture No. 03 – Ruins of what is believed to be an ancient palace at the top of the Hunnasgiri hill.
The following photo also shows the body of King Rajasinghe II, the son of King Senarath, who carried out the construction, as seen by Robert Knox.
Picture No. 4. The first cover of the book along the way written by DP Wickramasinghe. It also reflects the body of King Rajasinghe II, son of King Senarath, as seen by Robert Knox.
If the masterpieces in this magnificent structure are not preserved and brought to light, the story of a world heritage site similar to Sigiriya will be hidden from view. Therefore, the eyes of the Department of Archeology as well as the patriotic people of the city should be opened.
Responsibility of the Department of Archeology. More info here.
picture no two and three were taken from the following website.
මැදමහනුවර කන්ද අද හඳුන්වන්නේ හුන්නස්ගිරිය කන්ද නමිනි. මෙම කන්ද මුදුනේ පුරාණ බළකොටුවක හෝ මාලිගාවක නටබුන් පවතී. ජනප්රවාදයට අනුව මෙම බලකොටුව සාදා ඇත්තේ මහනුවර රජකළ සෙනරත් රජතුමා (1604 – 1635) විසිනි.Read more ›AmazingLanka.com