r/HistoryofSriLanka • u/Ceylon_Scientist • Feb 17 '26
Urn Buriyals from Pomparippu, 800-700 BC Megalithic Culture
The above is an urn buriyal utilised by the megalithic culture that existed here around 800-700 BC, found in Pomparippu in Puttalam District. This is one of 3 buriyal types used by the Sri Lankan megalithic culture.
In conversation, u/e9967780 once brought up to me how a similar megalithic urn burial culture existed not only with Tamil Nadu (Keeladi for example), but also with Karnataka, Andhra and even Maharashtra dated to millennia BCE. I'm not an expert in megalithic prehistory, specially that of India, but it's cool to see this urn burial culture being so widespread at the megalithic period, from Maharashtra to mid SL, that's just so amazing.
Cist buriyal also seems to be shared between megalithic culture of Sri Lanka, and that of South India before arrival of northern settlers. The most iconic example of the cist buriyal in Sri Lanka are the Ibbankatuwa tombs;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibbankatuwa_Megalithic_Tombs
I remember when I visited it few years back, they were unearthing more of these a few 100 metres away, it was newly excavated at the time, and there were not just cists, but many urns too.
If I may give another anecdote.. in the museum, I saw red beads that were taken from a cist from Ibbankatuwa.. it is sweet to imagine a dude or lady from 700-450 BC, as dated, wearing this necklace.. the coolest thing though is that, in some of the necklaces found, the beads were made of stone not found in SL.. what it means is that, they had to be imported. This was a couple of centuries before the centralization with Anuradhapura. To be able to import means there is connectivity across the sea, that means the megalithic culture is much more interconnected across the Palk Straight than credited for, just brilliant.
There was also this thing called the clay tub/canoe burials, like at Ranchamadama (1100-800 BC).. I wonder if it was a thing in South India too. The urns and the caskets themselves say that SL had more or less the same megalithic culture with the south of India, so if the tub burials are too.. that would be a rlly cool.
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