A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c8.145

c8.145

Anurādhapura, when in its prime, was a city of colossal proportions, ‘une véritable Rome bouddhique,’ at least 8 miles in diameter, and crowded with magnificent buildings. After the removal of the court everything went to ruin, but many edifices were repaired and restored by Parākrama Bāhu, to whose energy the splendours of Polonnāruwa also are largely due. After his death the ancient capital again became desolate, and remained buried in dense forest until recent times. During the last forty years the ruins have been systematically and efficiently explored, with the result that the principal remains have been exposed, mapped, and more or less completely described.