Once taking the form of a giant lion, Sri Lanka’s historic Sigiriya monument is a testament to the engineering ingenuity of the ancients, as Laura Collacott discovers
From the middle of the Sri Lankan landscape rises a great rock. This rock was the chosen home of an ancient colony of people who draped their city over its back in the first millennium. It is a curious decision, as to the innocent bystander the awkward block of granite looks anything but accessible.
But that is precisely the point. This complex was built as a fortress by King Kasyapa, who had overthrown his father Dhatusena to seize the throne and so feared reprisal. He evidently thought himself safe enough in his mountain-top home that he could afford to indulge a few luxuries. More than a few, it seems.
The summit once housed a crowded development of palaces and gardens. Archaeologists even believe that they have found evidence of an open air pool in the “sky palace”, as it is dubbed. This was ancient extravagance in full swing.
Sigiriya means “lion’s rock” in the local Sinhalese and, remarkably, archaeologists believe that the ancient inhabitants had carved and adorned the sheer rock to create a structure, half the work of man and half of nature, that took the form of a lying lion. A staircase was carved into the front of the rock and flanked by two giant paws which are still visible today.
This staircase led up through the “open mouth” of the big cat, an additional architectural appendage made of bricks, timber and a tiled roof. Like the pyramids, it is hard to envisage how this could have been achieved without the help of modern construction techniques. But the engineers were motivated by the veneration of their leader and constructed a royal citadel that some have today nominated as the eighth wonder of the world.
The complex didn’t stop at the palace though. There is evidence of a fairly populous area below. Two rectangular precincts lie to the west of the central rock, mirrored by two on the east and surrounded by two moats and a rampart. Kasyapa was leaving little to chance.
Within the walls of his fortress, his minions created a lavish, but precisely designed city. At the very base of the rock, the engineers incorporated the natural boulders, hewing and carving them to create tranquil gardens as well as a throne room from which the King would give audiences. Some used the natural protection of caves in the lower section as the base from which to extend their homes.
Below this lie the water gardens, boasting a sophisticated network of underground plumbing that piped water to ponds, fountains and to the royal baths. In the rainy season, some of the fountains can still be seen working. Fully operational, the gardens would have looked a little like those still found at Angkor Wat.
Halfway up the rock is a sheltered gallery that scholars have found most fascinating. Here, the craftsmen painted an estimated 500 “heavenly maidens”, intricate paintings that are praised as some of the finest examples of their time and demonstrate the artistic creativity of our forefathers. Today, 22 of these apsaras can still be seen clearly.
Below the gallery is a wall coated in a high-gloss glaze. Known as the Mirror Wall, visitors in the city’s heyday could see reflections of the women in the gallery above. Between the seventh and 11th centuries, visitors to the wall inscribed it with graffiti, many of which have now been deciphered and published. They too offer an insight into the minds and society of these early people.
It is difficult in the modern day to conjure the magnificence of this ancient city but enough of it remains to be able to spark the imagination. The best time to attempt it is at daybreak. Getting up early will beat the crowds and allows you to climb to the summit by sunrise to see a beautiful view, both of the new day and the carefully planned urban area below. The king himself clearly thought a lot of this particular aspect as there is a rock in the palace positioned to face the rising sun.
You can then descend to the ground, taking in the mirror rock as you go, and wander among the quasi-natural, quasi-man-made shelters. Some were inhabited by monks, some by royal attendants and although it’s easy to see why the site itself inspires such reverence, the additions that the dutiful entourage made must have fabulously enhanced it.
Controversial plans are also being debated for the introduction of an evening walk around the monument complete with dramatisation of the ancient culture and lightshow. But critics doubt that the site is fit to handle up to 400 visitors safely at night and worry about the damage that lightshows and heightened activity could do to the rock. If you respect the rocky gift from history, stick to dawn and enjoy Sigiriya in the day’s most flattering light.
