Sri Lanka to start deciphering Dimbulagala stone inscription soon

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka's Department of Archeology says that the process of copying the characters and symbols from the country's single largest ever stone inscription, discovered in Dimbulagala, is in its final stages.

The Acting Director General of the Department of Archeology, Nishanthi Jayasinghe told News 1st that once the characters and symbols are copied, the relevant documentation will be sent to Professor Karunasena Hettiarachchi, an expert in reading ancient scripture. 

In addition, several officials from the Department of Archeology will also be involved in the process.

The Acting Director General of the Department of Archeology, Nishanthi Jayasinghe said that the process of reading and deciphering the characters and symbols will commence within two weeks.

The largest stone inscription found in Sri Lanka so far,was discovered on Polonnaruwa’s historic Dimbulagala Aranya Senasana hills.

The stone inscription is about 45 feet long and 18 feet high, and it believed that it was carved somewhere between 1 & 2 BC.

Experts say that the characters and symbols in the stone inscription are those that belong to the early Brahmi script.