Page 10 - Citadel Book P I

INTRODUCTION

The work to establish the chronological sequence of the pottery discovered during the
excavations carried out in the Anuradhapura Citadel under the direction of Dr. S.U.
Deraniyagala between 1984-1989 initiated in 2015. I served as the assistant on this project,
working under Dr. Deraniyagala's supervision. While the primary data analysis was in
progress, unexpectedly Dr. Deraniyagala passed away. Nevertheless, all requisite data had
been entrusted to me by Dr. Deraniyagala, who also elucidated the analytical procedures. Thus,
I was able to continue the analysis from that point onward.
The results were compiled into two volumes. This volume presents meticulously
organized numerical data regarding all clay artefacts, including pottery, roof-tiles, bricks,
pinnacles and figurines unearthed from ASW1 87/88, AMP 88, AG 84/85, ADB 87/88 and
ASM 89 excavations. Its sole purpose is to grant researchers convenient access to data
concerning the unearthed clay artefacts in the 1984-89 excavation series in Anuradhapura
Citadel, devoid of any interpretive analysis.

Work is currently underway to establish the chronological sequence of the pottery
found in this series of excavations. It will be published as the second volume.

This first volume has been published in two parts. Part I includes data on clay objects
found from ASW1 87/88 and AMP 88 excavations. Part II includes data on clay objects found
from AG 84/85, ADB 87/88 and ASM 89 excavations.
A note prepared by Dr. Deraniyagala concerning the series of excavations conducted in
Anuradhapura Citadel is presented as the first section of this volume. As it encompasses details
regarding the objectives and methodology of these excavations, I deemed it appropriate to edit
and include it herein.

To construct the chronological sequence of pottery, it became imperative to
systematically arrange data on all clay artefacts, including pottery, roof-tiles, bricks, pinnacles
and figurines unearthed during this series of excavations. During the excavation period,
illustrations of these clay artefacts were created, and pertinent data—including texture, color,
luster, number of pieces, and weight—was meticulously recorded according to designated
context numbers. This information, along with the illustrations, was subsequently digitized by
a team led by Mr. A.A. Wijayaratne and Dr. Thusitha Wagalawatta.

All the clay artefacts were classified into 84 main categories. Each main category and
its sub category were assigned a specific code number (for example: 1/A/a/i). Illustrations of
these clay artefacts are presented in the second section of this volume. The principal
characteristics, diameter ranges, and ware types are elaborated upon in the third section.
All the clay artefacts discovered have been classified into 32 ware types. Each ware type
is assigned a code number based on its texture and lustre (for example: 2/A/I – Hellenistic/fine
textured/high luster). Detailed information regarding the clay ware types are presented in the
fourth section.

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