The 15th and 16th of April 1991 officially marked the anniversary of the discovery of archaeological evidence in the historic city of Sigiriya. The then Archaeological Commissioner Mr. Henry Charles Purvis Bell officially climbed Sigiriya for the first time in these two days in April 1894 and went to the top of the rock and recorded it.
Later in August Sigiriya along with some villagers cleared the surrounding parts of the palace. Also, the Public Works Department has provided facilities for the excavation work on the top of the rock in December. In January and February 1895, excavations were resumed.
It is also said that Sigiriya was visited twice by Major Jonathan Forbes in 1831 and 1833 and he was unable to reach the top of the rock.
In the book Eleven Years in Ceylon, it is mentioned that "Looking from the place where I stood, I was able to find huge stone walls near the base of the rock among the trees. I had the feeling that this was the place I had so longed to find. (Volume 2 page 2)
Because of this trip, he has uncovered important information. It is also stated that the moat there was destroyed as he describes. Climbing up to the ledge of the mirrored wall, he saw no frescoes and only noted that the protruding stone above the ledge was coated with bright colors.
According to Forbes, the surrounding villagers knew about the Sigiri rock and the peak. He mentions information about a pond in the fort at the top of the inaccessible rock.
It was first climbed to the top of the rock in 1853. Accordingly, A. Y. Adams, J. Bailey and Wijekoon have climbed the three. Later in 1875, T. W. Rees Davies observed Sigiriya through a telescope. Then engineer T. H. Balaski in 1887 created and described a map in search of information about this.
In 1889, A. Murray, the adviser of Governor Sir William Gregory, noted and recorded 23 murals.
From 1895 to 1905 almost everyone was able to understand the archaeological facts of Sigiriya and its historical significance. That period is known as the centenary of Sigiriya. Mr. Bell, who performed a pioneering mission in this regard, showed great interest in uncovering the archaeological sites there. Accordingly, great pains have been taken to make the entrance, the mirror wall, the Sigiri paintings, the lion elevator, the palace on top of the rock accessible to the public. His greatest discovery is the pair of clawed lion feet near the entrance to the palace.
In 1895, Bell cleared the clifftop palace and other jungle areas and rehabilitated and replaced the mirrored wall chain that leads to the clifftop. Today's visitors who walk along this long corridor protected by beautiful marble paving stones cannot imagine how much effort has gone into the meticulous restoration of this ancient section.
It has taken more than 10 years to rehabilitate the 10 steps made of limestone and limestone.
An important feature here is the 68-foot-long dwarf iron bridge that was built to connect the two ruined sections of the stairway found at the northwest corner of the rock. The local blacksmith who created it is Lenadora Gamagedara Salman Hami. Bell mentions his masterpiece in his report.
Also Bell's assistant Muhandiram D. it. L. Perera has recorded and restored the murals. To make it easier to see these frescoes today, Bell arranged for a safe iron platform to be built from Maluwa to reach the cart carrying the paintings. The discovery of the Lion Lift and the ruins of the rock-top palace and garden were fully excavated. Between 1894 and 1898, Bell excavated the main hall area, the water garden and the north and south cold palaces for mapping and checking.
In 1899, Bell carried out excavations in areas like Mapagala and Pidurangala and mapped everything in the surrounding area.
It is also said that Sigiri tried to read cursive lyrics in his early years. Mr Bell retired in 1912 after accomplishing such a great mission and then the era was the era of Mr. Senarath Paranavithana, the father of archeology in Sri Lanka.
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