The ancient cities uncovered

Before the guidebooks, the great ruins lay deep in jungle. The camera caught them being rediscovered.

Early photographs of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa show something no visitor can see now: immense brick dagobas that look like wooded hills, and carved stone half-buried among roots. These pictures are a record of the sites before and during their clearing.

A great dagoba at Anuradhapura, still covered with trees. Details

The forest of stone pillars from the Brazen Palace (Lovamahapaya), Anuradhapura. Details

The colossal reclining Buddha at Gal Vihara, Polonnaruwa. Details

Organised archaeology began in 1890, when H. C. P. Bell of the Ceylon Civil Service was directed to start work in the North Central Province. He went on to lead the Archaeological Survey until 1912. Bell’s surveys brought excavation, measured records and systematic clearing to sites that had long been known only to local people, pilgrims and curious visitors.

Stone slabs stacked beside the Twin Ponds during excavation at Anuradhapura. Details

A carved moonstone at Anuradhapura. Its concentric bands inspired this archive’s logo. Details

Sigiriya, the fifth-century rock fortress, was the most dramatic site of all. Bell began extensive work there in the mid-1890s. Reaching the famous painted women meant climbing precarious ladders, and copies of the frescoes were made in the 1890s under very difficult conditions.

Looking down the ladders below the fresco pocket at Sigiriya. Details

Terraces and the great pool on the summit of the rock. Details

Next story: The studios behind the pictures