No. 43.— 1892.] 



R1TIGALA. 



5. The water found on this flat is the source of the Maha Dewille- 

 ela, which flows in a southerly direction down the steep sides of the 

 mountain into the Ulpottawewa, situated near the cart road at the 

 point I have alluded to in paragraph 1 as being 27 miles distant 

 from Anuradhapura. The water of this stream was not flowing in a 

 continuous current on the day I visited it, but was in pools here and 

 there in the bed. On drinking the water I found it to be good. 



In 1872 Mr. James Mantell was stationed on trigonometrical duty 

 at Bitigala from May 11 to July 10, and during that time he 

 found abundance of water for his party from the stream. On the day 

 of my visit all the ravines on the eastern side of the mountain were 

 quite dry, and, with the exception of a dirty pool of water in an ancient 

 pokuna at the base of the hill, I did not see a single drop of water till 

 I came to this stream, 2,000 ft. above sea level. 



6. The temperature on the flat I found to be 73° at 11.30 a.m. v 

 and on the same day at 3.30 p.m. at the base of the mountain the 

 temperature was 80°. 



7. Considerable difficulty will be experienced in finding a trace 

 for a bridle path to lead from Ulpottagama to this flat. The path 

 must be at least three miles in length, rising at a gradient of one in ten. 

 But to trace a continuous gradient would be practically impossible, so 

 that the path would probably have to be carried in a zig-zag course up 

 the eastern face of the hill, and be extended probably to more than 

 four miles in length. There can be no doubt that the precipices and 

 enormous boulders piled in great masses beneath them will present 

 serious obstacles to the discovery of even a very rough trace. 



8. I visited the ruins alluded to in Mr. James Mantell's report, and 

 a brief description of them may not be considered out of place in a 

 report such as this. I found them to consist apparently of two groups 

 of buildings : one group is perhaps 200 or 250 ft. higher as to site 

 than the other, and connected by a well-laid causeway 5 ft. in width 

 with a kerbstone on each side like a modern pavement. A portion of 

 this sloping pavement is perfectly straight for ten chains or an eighth 

 of a mile. 



The lower ruins stand near to a large pokuna, which is perhaps an 

 acre or two in extent, and must have been, when filled with water, 20 

 to 30 ft. deep. The breach is 30 ft. deep and 40 ft. wide. The bunds 

 and natural sides are stepped with chiselled stones, many of which are 

 10 ft. in length. The foundations of the remains of one of these 

 buildings near the pokuna measure 65 ft. by 48 ft., and stand in a 

 spacious compound enclosed by walls of hewn stone. The upper ruins 

 are of a higher order of architecture, and the natives call them the 

 maligawa. One measures 71 ft. by 39 ft., another 33 ft. by 45 ft., 

 and a third 28 ft. square. The latter is the highest ruin, and in the 

 best preservation. The large stones which compose it are laid with 

 great precision, agreeing with the cardinal points of the compass, and 

 are faced with mouldings. The forest trees have not yet displaced 

 these massive slabs of stonework, several of which measure 16 ft. by 

 3 ft. by 1 ft. The distance from the lower edge of the pokuna to the 

 highest ruin is half a mile. 



9. I beg to attach a rough hill sketch to illustrate this report.* 



10. I would beg, in conclusion, to suggest that at the end of a long- 

 dry season a well be dug on the flat, to ascertain the certainty of a 



* Not reproduced. — B., Hon. Sec. 



