Explorations in Sri Lankan Archaeology

with Raj Somadeva PART 3

DARSHANIE RATNAWALLI, BEING THE THIRD PART OF AN INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSOR RAJ
SOMADEVA PUBLISHED IN THE NATION (PRINT EDITION HERE) ON SUNDAY, 23RD NOVEMBER 2014

Somadeva and
team at the site of the yaksha inscription, a cave in Tamketiya, Nailgala, Kaltota.
The last part of the interview of Professor Raj Somadeva with Darshanie Ratnawalli continued
from last week.
DR: To which period do you assign your yaksha inscription?
RS: Frequently we used to ascribe the inscriptions written in early form (angular style) of the
Brahmi letters found in Sri Lanka to 250 BCE which is contemporaneous with the reign of Emperor
Ashoka in India. In that conventional sense, our present inscription could also be ascribed to that
date. But the thinking on the antiquity of the Brahmi script has now been gradually changing. I
would like to quote a very particular case in this regard. Dr. Siran Deraniyagala, as you know, a wellknown archaeologist in the country has unearthed a potsherd with an early form of Brahmi letters
engraved on it found in an excavation carried out in the Mahapali refectory in Anuradhapura. The
letters written reads as tayakute of which the meaning is uncertain. The soil layer where this
particular potsherd was found has been radiometrically dated to a period between 600 and 500 BCE.
This finding is stunning. It has provided an empirical framework to the early use of Brahmi script not
only in Sri Lanka but also in the greater South Asian region. In 1970s, Professor Paranavitana has
also concurred with the dating of the use of Brahmi letters before Ashoka. Anyway I suppose we need
further research on this subject within a positive line of thinking.

DR: But isnt there some doubt about this early date, 500, 600 BC?
RS: No
DR: Yes. For example, doesnt Dr. Deraniyagala himself suggest in his publication in 1990
RS: 1992
DR: In 1990 [Radio Carbon Dating of Early Brahmi Script in Sri Lanka(600-500 BC), pg.159]; that
because the 5 sherds came from a 10m deep pit, 3x3m, some of the layers may have been disturbed
RS: Right
DR: What I found was that in certain powerful academic circles, there was a lot of doubt about this
early date.
RS: What do you mean by Powerful academic circles?
DR: For example, Michael Witzel, the Professor of Sanskrit and Indology at Harvard says in one of
his publications [Autochthonous Aryans? The Evidence from Old Indian and Iranian Texts, 2001,
p85, fn214]; Coningham 1995 maintains an early improbabledate for Brahmi at c.
500 BCE for Sri Lanka. This single, early date probably is due to unclear stratigraphy;
the singular find of inscribed materials is situated barely below a much later
level. Then again there is a very unflattering statement made about the finding of early Brahmi
writing in Sri Lanka in a joint publication by Steve Farmer, Richard Sproat and Michael Witzel [The
Collapse of the Indus-Script Thesis: The Myth of a Literate Harappan Civilization, p46]. They say;
Writing is still often considered a requirement of large-scale urban civilizationsThe
result is that the discovery of early traces of writing is often taken for a holy grail by
the public, archaeologists, and the agencies that fund them. Its not a gross
exaggeration to suggest that the first reaction of archaeologists who stumble on a
cache of unknown symbols is to call in the press and announce the discovery of a new
script, or in one alternate scenario the earliest traces of an old one. This story has
played out repeatedly in the last half decade alone in respect to discoveries in Central
Asia, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Europe, Central America and most recently Southeast Iran.
This seems to be somewhat an extreme reaction
RS: Ok. But remember that we are dealing with material evidence and the knowledge produced by
the local scholars. So these are the criticisms
DR: But let me read out to you the most reasonable summing up of the situation I have found. Its by
L.S. Cousins [Early Development of Buddhist Literature and Language in India]: A limited
amount of archaeological evidence for the early use of writing has been found on
potsherds in the excavations at Anuradhapura, the ancient capital of Ceylon. The
initial discoveries were made by Deraniyagala, who at first favoured rather early dates
B.C., partly based upon his previously published view that a type of bone point found
in archaeological contexts both in India and in Sri Lanka is a writing implement. In his

more substantial subsequent publications he proposed on the specific evidence from

his Anuradhapura investigations to date the use of Brahmi to approximately to sixth
century B.C. Further investigations were carried out by British archaeologists and F.R
Allchin initially suggested, more cautiously, that these potsherds are dated by a large
number of radiocarbon samples at least to the 4th-5th centuries B.C., if not earlier. In
a subsequent collective publication by the British archaeologists involved, a still more
cautious position is indicated: To sum up the evidence of the early use of Brahmi at
Anuradhapura, the inscriptions provide a convincing series starting from their
earliest occurrence in the early part of the fourth century B.C. The series shows three
stages during which familiarity with and use of writing steadily develop. So it has been
brought forward right? From the 6th, 5th century to 4th century? But still pre-Asokan.
RS: I agree with you. A single finding is not adequate to change the whole scenario of the origin of
Brahmi. But it indicates in some way to think on the deep antiquity of the origin of Brahmi in the
greater south Asian region. What I emphasise is that there is a possibility to push back the earliest
date of Brahmi before the arrival of Arhat Mahinda in the day of Asoka. It has been accepted by
Paranavitana, Deraniyagala, Ramesh and everybody. So this is supportive evidence for my discovery
of the word yagasha.

R. Somadeva versus
H. Falk. The Tissamaharama potsherd.
DR: Your reading of the famous Tissamaharama potsherd differs from that of Harry Falk. Why
havent you published this variant reading anywhere significant? It only appears in a Sinhalese
article in Sunday Divaina. Whats generally accepted in the relevant circles, yours or Falks?

RS: I have my own priorities in academic and research work. Some things which gain wider public
attraction have been overlooked by my own preferences. In the case of the Tissamaharama potsherd,
I made my interpretation on a reasonable linguistic ground according to my knowledge and
experience of working nearly 22 years with epigraphy in Sri Lanka. Dr. Harry Falk has made his own.
As an academic I did my part. I have very neutral views on the acceptance by others on my work. If
scientists and the philosophers seek acceptance by others of their knowledge, then science will not
progress anymore. Most of the brainstorming scientific discoveries were not the focus of popular
public acceptance in their early stages. I believe that justifiable knowledge of any form will find its
own levels of acceptance in society in time.
DR: Was your variant reading of the Anaikotte seal ever published in a journal of repute? You say
that the term on this seal is in Prakrit? Is it generally accepted that the seal carries a Prakrit term? I
read an interview given by Prof. Sudharshan Seneviratne in Frontline where he says; The
discovery of the famous copper ring at Anaikoddai from the early historic context that
[the copper ring] had both the megalithic symbols and the Brahmi symbols, the
Brahmi symbols reading a Dravidian term. There are doubts whether it is Kovendha or
Kovendhan. Both refer to the identity of a ruler or chieftain.

The pre-Christian
seal with Brahmi writing unearthed at the megalithic burial complex at Annaikotte
RS: I have re-examined the reading of this seal found in the Jaffana peninsula. The legend on it was
first deciphered by Professor Kartigesu Indrapala of the Jaffna University. Professor Indrapala has

deciphered the three Brahmi letters appearing on the seal as kovetan and concluded that it narrates
a name of a petty ruler of Tamil origin. He equates the word kovetan with the wordKoventan in
Tamil. But my close observations show that he mistakenly added the three monograms engraved top
of the line of letters during his decipherment. The correct way of reading it is keveta. This word
could be the Prakrit version of the Sanskrit word kevarta which means the fisherman. The modern
wordkevatta used for fishermen is a derivative form of the word kevarta. It is important to note
that the area where the seal was found was a highly economically productive region even during the
early historic period. In theVallipuram gold plate inscription of King Vasabha, this region is
identified asbadakara atana which means the territory of the golden seaboard. No doubt, this area
has contributed to the national economy in a great proportion from the resources of the sea. Fish and
salt might have played a vital role in this regard. Most of the later scholars relied on Professor
Indrapalas interpretation.
DR: Is it because you dare not publish these contrary readings in international forums that you only
publish in Sinhala?
RS: No. I published the Annaikotte reading in one of the journals published by the Social Sciences
faculty of the Kelaniya University. Unfortunately, it is in Sinhala.

The Annaikoddai
Seal. Beyond the Homelands approach, Somadevas article published unfortunately in Sinhala in

Sarasavi- 50 years of Independence commemoration volume, University of Kelaniya, 1998.

DR: There are certain academics who wont publish in English, the things they say in the vernacular,
because their reputations would suffer.
RS: I agree with you. So well publish in English. Thats the solution.
DR: You were involved with the Kuragala excavation? What can you tell me about the Arabic
inscriptions there? I also heard that the tombstone with Arabic writing on it was destroyed? Is this
true?
RS: No I am not involved with the excavation in Kuragala. I did an archaeological exploration there.
The report of that survey is to be published in the near future. Kuragala was subjected to the
attention of Arabic people from the 13th century onwards. Most of them came to search for gems in
the Sabaragamuva area and to visit Adams peak. I need to look at the Arabic inscription afresh
before I comment on that. I did not see any destruction at the site except the removal of
unauthorized constructions within the archaeological reserve there.
DR: Are you being politically correct? Are there Arabic inscriptions in Kuragala? Are they authentic?
RS: Yes. One. I saw that inscription. Its on a free standing rock. We have to get a copy and go
through the script to verify its antiquity.
DR: It hasnt been done yet?
RS: No. I am going to copy that inscription and get an Arabic scholar to decipher that. Have you
heard of Dr. Shukri of the Naleemiah Institute, Beruwala? Id like to ask him to decipher this short
inscription and I am ready to publish it in my report.

The spot at
Kuragala where theres an Arabic inscription on a free standing rock
See also Part 1 and Part 2