5,000 YEAR-OLD CIVILISATION

Several tools and equipment used by a human civilisation that is said to have existed some 5,000 years ago have been discovered during excavations at Hunugalagala in Walmeethalawa in the Haputale-Haldumulla Division.

Kelaniya University’s Archaeology Faculty Professor Raj Somadeva said he believed lime stone caves in Hunugalagala to have been the habitat of a pre-historic civilisation

and the finds would throw light on important facts about the lifestyle of the people. He said the tools and the equipment discovered were not as

The human civilisation is said to have existed some 5,000 years ago This must have definitely been a community of hunters. They appear to have faced threats by invaders, but had not fled from their habitats

sophisticated as those discovered earlier during excavations in Beragala and Haldumulla.

“This must have definitely been a community of hunters. They appear to have faced threats by invaders, but had not fled from their habitats. We found a stone with a hole in the centre into which they may have driven a wooden spike and spun it fast to produce a fire with the help of dried leaves. We have found sev- eral stones with smooth surfaces probably used by them for grinding grains,” Prof. Somadeva said

He said this was the first time that excavations had been carried out in a lime stone cave anywhere in the country.

Pix by Palitha Ariyawansha