Cultural Heritage Preservation Project in Jaffna

The Chargé d’affaires of US Embassy Robert Hilton on Friday inaugurated a two year project to preserve pre-historic artefacts in the collection of the University of Jaffna.

In a statement, the US Embassy said the funding is provided by the US Department of State under the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) and totals more than Rs. 23 million.

The project will rescue artefacts such as clay pots, brass and copper items, temple statues, coins, coral stones, and ceramic objects that are on the verge of irreversible decay.

Most of the collection was excavated in the Northern Province. The project will involve both undergraduate and post graduate archaeology students of the University of Jaffna.

Professor P. Pushparatnam, a senior professor and the Project Director, submitted the successful proposal to the US Embassy and AFCP. University of Jaffna Vice Chancellor Professor R. Vigneswaran will assist with the project.

“A nation’s cultural heritage is one of its most precious resources. I hope that this project, like the other projects we are supporting, will help Sri Lanka move beyond the difficult periods of division that have existed in the recent past, and towards a reconciled future in which the rich diversity of Sri Lanka’s heritage is seen as an agent of unity and celebrated by all the people of the country,” said Chargé Hilton.

Since 2001, AFCP has funded 13 projects in Sri Lanka, including the conservation of a Buddhist temple, the restoration of the Batticaloa Dutch Fort, the preservation of Buddhist, Hindu, and other collections in the Anuradhapura Archaeological Museum, and the preservation of the intangible heritage of ritual music and dance forms of the Adivasi, Tamil, and Buddhist communities.