Ancient site · Monument
Sigiriya
Also known as Lion Rock
A granite rock about 180 metres high in central Sri Lanka, made a fortress-palace by King Kashyapa I (477–495 CE). He built a palace on the summit, reached through a gateway shaped as a giant lion, of which the paws remain, and laid out water gardens below.
Painted women survive in a sheltered pocket of the rock, and the polished 'Mirror Wall' carries verses left by later visitors. After his defeat it returned to use as a Buddhist monastery, as it had been since the 3rd century BCE.
- Dates
- royal citadel 477–495 CE; monastery until the 14th century
- Still standing
- Yes
- UNESCO World Heritage
- Yes
- Location
- 7.96° N, 80.76° E
How we know
The Sri Lankan chronicle Culavamsa describes King Kashyapa's citadel, and visitors' verses scratched on the 'Mirror Wall' survive.
Nearby sites
- Anuradhapura settled c. 900 BCE; capital from the 4th century BCE to the 10th century CE; sacred city today
- Sivagalai c. 1200–700 BCE (rice from a burial urn); a claim of iron at 3345 BCE is disputed
- Adichanallur c. 1000–600 BCE (radiocarbon); earlier claims debated
- Keezhadi 6th century BCE–3rd century CE (radiocarbon); excavator proposes 8th century BCE; ASI questions this
- Kumari Kandam (legendary) legendary; no real date
- Arikamedu 2nd century BCE–7th/8th century CE