NO. 47.— 1896.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY, SIGIRIYA. 247 



have been taken to insert every rock (many lined with 

 grooves for the foundations of structures that stood upon 

 them), stone wall, pond, &c. ; so that a large scale plan may 

 be ultimately drawn from which no ancient remains above 

 ground shall be omitted. 



All west of the Rock has been already surveyed in detail ; 

 whilst round the lowest slopes of Stgiri-gala itself a traverse 

 has been run, the " gallery " accurately located, and the line 

 of survey taken past the north-west corner of the Rock, and 

 up the ladders and grooves beyond to the top. The prismatic 

 compass survey made in 1895 of the Rock's summit and the 

 excavations thereon has been checked and improved upon. 



(3) Exploration. 



( a) Exploration of the elongated hummock of rock situated 

 south of Sigiri Rock, and styled by the natives Mapa-gala, 

 proves it to have been included within the limits of the 

 ancient city. Huge walls of cyclopean masonry defend this 

 whale-like rock, both on the east and west ; and parallel with 

 the western wall occurs a well-defined line of lesser stones, 

 which points to a street or road leading on southwards in 

 days gone by. When the jungle in this quarter has been 

 cut away we shall know more about the connection of 

 Mdpa-gala with the Great Rock. 



ib) About a mile from Sigiriya, and only a short distance 

 off the minor road from Inamaluwa, in forest, I was guided 

 to the remains of an ancient Buddhist monastery, which 

 doubtless dates back to the stirring times of * the fifth 

 century A.D., when the parricide Kasyapa ruled on Sigiri- 

 gala. Here, thickly overgrown, are monolith pillars and a 

 dag aba mound of no mean size, adjoining a small tank. 



(c) High up the eastern face of Sigiri Rock may be noticed 

 a dark streak betokening caves.* These I determined to 

 explore. 



* Photograph, C 472. 



