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TABLE CASE XVII. 



A rather heterogeneous assortment of ancient odds and ends is 

 provisionally placed in this case, gold and silver fragments, 

 beads, and gems from the ruined cities of Ceylon. The excavations 

 which have been carried on for many years under the direction of 

 the Archaeological Commissioner have not led to any sensational 

 discovery of buried treasure. Such precious relics as have been 

 unearthed have on the whole been disappointing so far as their 

 intrinsic value is concerned. 



In the reverse half of this case there is an ola horoscope and a 

 copper sannas or deed conveying a grant of land to a Kandyan 

 temple by the last King of Kandy. There is also shown an 

 ebony weighing lever, called Tulappadi in Tamil, still used by 

 traders in the Vanni and Jaffna, presented by J. P. Lewis, Esq., 

 CCS. 



In the glass box over the case there are two old swords, with 

 Sinhalese legends dating from the years 1374 and 1416 inscribed 

 upon them. The inscriptions relate that the swords were presented 

 by the Rajas reigning during the years mentioned (1917 in the 

 Buddhist Era = 1374 in the Christian Era ; 1959 A.B. = 1416 A.D.) 

 in the town of Jayawardhanapura (the modern Kotte, which lies 

 in the outskirts of Colombo) to two members of an aristocratic 

 family upon their appointment as generals. These interesting 

 swords were presented to the Museum by Mr. C M. Fernando, 

 Crown Counsel. 



TABLE CASE XVIII. 



Containing a valuable collection of coins which have at one time 

 been current in Ceylon. The coins fall into two classes, namely, 

 the ancient Sinhalese currency, comprising the coins of the Kings 

 of Ceylon ; and the foreign coins introduced to this Island by 

 traders from the days of the Roman Emperors down to the estab- 

 lishment of British Rule. The devices on the coins of the Sinhalese 

 Kings represent on the obverse the king standing, holding a lotus 

 flower in his right hand and a kind of sceptre, sometimes called 

 the trisul emblem, of questionable significance, in his left hand. 

 On the reverse the same figure is repeated in a sitting attitude with 

 the name of the king inscribed to the left of the figure in Nagari- 

 Sanskrit characters. 



It has been a too common practice to forge counterfeits of the 

 gold coins for the purpose of deceiving collectors. 



The most ancient coins represented in the collection are rectan- 

 gular pieces of silver with or without figures of animals punched 

 upon them, called Eldlings, which have been found during the 

 excavation of the ruined cities. 



