LITERARY REGISTER SUPPLEMENT- 
[Under this heading, in future, we mean to give a four page “ Supplement ” with our Tropical 
Agriculturist, each month, when there is matter of sufficient value, so to be preserved.] 
X8S8. 
The Archaeological Survey of 
Ceylon and its Work. 
BY PKOF. W. W. GEIGEK. 
Amongst the many objects that occupied the 
Eleventh International Congress of Orientalists held 
at Paris, it had the opportunity of noticing also 
the admirable work done by the Arcbieological Sur- 
vey of Ceylon. According to a proposal which I made 
in the afternoon meeting of the Indian Section on 
September 10th the Congress accepted a resolution 
to express its warmest thanks to the British Govern- 
ment in Colombo for the varied and efficient assist- 
ance afforded t.o the historical inquiry about the 
island by publishing the Archaeological Reports, as 
well as by editing the Mahavamsa and similar 
documents. The Congress hoped also that the work 
which has been undertaken so auspiciously, will be 
continued by the Government, and carried out in 
the same manner. Now I beg to add a few remarks 
to that resolution, which may explain its origin and 
its purpose. These remarks are only caused by the 
anxious desire to make the work of the Archaeolo- 
gical Survey of Ceylon as useful as possible to the 
scientific world, and they are based upon, the experiences 
which I myself had in making use of its publications for 
my own historical and linguistic studies. 
First of all, I am sorry to observe that the Re- 
E orts of the Archaeological Survey of Ceylon are 
y no means so well known in Europe, and so much 
studied by European scholars, as we should expect 
and as they deserve. I beg to mention but one 
instance. In the year 1892 the Government published 
Mr. H. C. P. Bell’s most interesting and compre- 
hensive “ Report on the Kegalla District of the 
Sabaragamuwa Province.” But I am sorry I could not 
even find this work quoted in the German Oriental 
Bibliography, though the editors of this journal took 
the utmost trouble to make their list of books as 
complete as possible, and though they mention a 
good many papers of much less scientific importance. 
I know very well that in the winter 1885 9, when 
I was myself in Ceylorr, the excavations of Sigiriya, 
undertaken by- the indefatigable Archaeological Com- 
missioner, Mr. Bell, had led to very important results, 
and I suppose that in the nreantime some detailed re- 
port has beer; printed on these operations. But 1 have 
not seen it up to the present day, thoirgh I am very 
anxious to hear more about the subject.* 
All scholars, I think, will therefore agree with 
rrre that it is extremely desirable to give much more 
publicity to the printed reports of the Ceylon Gover^. 
* I know only Mr. Bell’s “ Interim Report on the 
Operations of the Archaeological Survey at Sigiriya in 
1895,” printed in the J.R.A.S., Ceylon Branch, No. 
<6 S. 44-56. 
ment than they seem to have at present. This can 
be done by various meairs. But first of all it will 
be necessary that the Ceylon Government should 
give orders for the regular dispatch of the Archaeologi- 
cal reports to this Society and to the British Museum, 
and it might also officially entrust a certain number 
of booksellers in the different countries of Europe 
with the sale of its publications. I suppose, of course, 
that an arrangement of that kind has already been 
made for England ; but as regards Germany, Mr. 
Otto Harrassowitz, at Leipzic, no doubt would come 
first into consideration, because he already has in 
his hands nearly the whole book trade between our 
country and the Oriental publishers. Besides, if I 
am allowed to judge from the most amiable recep- 
tion and liberal assistance which I ever found in 
Ceylon, I may, perhaps, add the suggestion that as is 
done by the Indian Government with their publica- 
tions, the publications might also be sent direct to 
such scholars as are especially engaged in Sinhalese 
studies. 
1 pass now to the form and the contents of the 
publications themselves, and I wish at first to draw 
particular attention to the epigraphical work done 
in Ceylon. Inscriptions which have been newly dis- 
covered, or which now can be explained in a more 
satisfactory manner than formerly, are at present 
generally published in the Reports of the Archaeo- 
logical Survey, together with the other materials. The 
third part, for instance, of the Report on the Kegalla 
District, which I mentioned above, is merely an 
epigraphical one, and it contains, amongst other 
documents, the important inscription of Dewanagala, 
which alludes to some historical events in the reign 
of Parakrama Bahu I, quite in accordance with the 
stitement of the Mahavamsa. Other new inscrip- 
tions used to be edited and translated in the J.R.A.S. 
Ceylon Branch ; not to speak of Rhys Davids’ 
papers on old Sinhalese Inscriptions, formerly pub- 
lished in J.R.AS. in England, and of Rhys Davids’, 
G, Goldschmidt’s, and Edw. Ri filler’s articles printed 
in the Indian Antiquary. This arrangement, I think, 
is not a happy one. 'The materials are spread far 
and wide, and the continuity of inquiry is in danger 
of being lost. According to my opinion, it would 
be best to separate the epigraphical qjart toialhj from 
the purely archceoloyical irorh, and to puhlisli the in- 
scriptions and lohatever helcngs to their study in parti- 
cular reports- Thus a kind of ‘‘Epigraphia Ceylonica” 
would bo established, and I am sure that it would 
find the irnanimous approval cf all European stu- 
dents of Sinhalese and of Indian epigraphy. It is 
hardly necessary to add that irot only ihe newly dis- 
covered inscriptions or those which will be dis- 
covered in future, should be published in these 
periodic al reports for w’hich I beg to sugeest the 
title “Epigrapia Ceylonica.” There are a good 
many inscriptions already printed and transhrted as 
for instance m Edw. Miiller’s ‘‘Ancient Inscriptions of 
Ceylon,” which require a new study, and which can be 
edited now with many improvements both in the text 
and in the translation. I do not doubt that even 
