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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). 



[Vol. XL 



of the Province, known as the Maligawa. Tennent refers to 

 " the ground being strewn with fragments of columns and 

 carved stones, the remnants of the royal buildings."* Some 

 of these are yet to be seen, but the most valuable ones 

 (including a stone window from the palace at Yapahu) were 

 transported to Colombo many years ago, and now occupy a 

 prominent place among the archaeological exhibits of the 

 Museum. 



Ibba-gala, "Tortoise Rock." 



Of the rocks in question, which appear to be composed of 

 solid granite, Ibba-gala, according to a writer in "Young 

 Ceylon,"f possesses some interest from a geological point 

 of view, owing to the existence of fossil footmarks on its 

 surface : — 



Some of these appear to be the footprints of hogs, others those of 

 some feline beasts of prey. The impression of the paws, as well as 

 the toes, are so well and distinctly marked and continued along whole 

 tracks, as not to be mistaken or confounded with any ripple marks or 

 other irregularities produced by the denudation of its surface. Though 

 Ibbagala appears to belong to the class of primitive or plutonic rocks, 

 it appears that there must have been a subsequent superimposition 

 of sedimentary formations, which, while in a soft state, received the 

 impressions that were rendered permanent by the consolidation or 

 crystallisation of their particles. The whole structure of the rock 

 appears to the eye to be composed of hornblende, mica, and felspar, 

 with traces of an impure carbonate of lime. 



The approach to this rock, which has already been 

 described, is from behind the Kachcheri buildings. 



On the summit of Ibba-gala is a tableland (partly cultivated 

 with cocoanut, the trees being now over fifty years old, and 

 other products), on which the temple stands. 



The vihare, it is said, was founded as a residence for 

 priests of the Aranya sectj (who cannot reside in, or own,, 

 endowed vihares), during the reign of Bhuwaneka Bahu II. 

 A portion of land covering about 15 acres was set apart for 



* Tennent's " Natural History of Ceylon." p. 167. 

 f Vol. L, No. 2, March, 1850, p. 49. 



X A sect of ascetic priests who live in caves and forests, also known as. 

 Kele Samagame Unnansela. 



