National Trust lecture on maritime archaeology

The National Trust –Sri Lanka’s lecture on Thursday, January 25 will be on “Maritime archaeology in Sri Lanka” by Rasika Muthucumarana. This is the Trust’s 102nd session and will be held at the HNB Auditorium, 22nd Floor, HNB Towers, 479 T.B. Jayah Mawatha, Colombo 10 at 6.30 p.m.

Muthucumarana will discuss the recent investigations done in Sri Lanka to find the missing chapters of Indian Ocean trade and shipbuilding. The oldest wreck found in the Asia Pacific region, known as the Godawaya wreck (Sri Lanka) was dated back to the 1st century BC.

Maritime Archaeology is not only about shipwrecks, it is a study of material remains that are a result of humans implementing maritime activities, such as ships, navigation, commerce, industries, trade, passengers and crew. Maritime archaeology does not imply underwater, a study of a ship or a lighthouse on land is also maritime archaeology.

Rasika Muthucumarana is a senior archaeology officer working for the Maritime Archaeology Unit (MAU) of the Central Cultural Fund, Sri Lanka, the custodian agency for the country’s UNESCO world heritage sites. Since 2001, he has been involved with most of the underwater archaeological field work projects in Sri Lanka, as well as some of the UNESCO field school projects throughout the region. He also is an underwater photographer and SCUBA diving instructor for PADI International. Rasika holds a BA special degree and M.Phil in archaeology from the University of Peradeniya and a postgraduate certificate in maritime archaeology from Flinders University, South Australia.

Further information can be obtained from the Trust Office Tel 2682730 / 0778081214 at the Post Graduate Institute of Archaeology, 407, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7.