Delft, as an archaeological centre

Priyanka Kurugala

Delft Islands are to be made an important archaeological center. The Archaeological Department has drawn up plans to conserve Delft as an archaeological attraction for tourists, a senior Archaeological Department official said.

Delft is an ideal laboratory for scholars who are studying the history of communication. Some evidence was unearthed of an ancient communication system used during the Dutch period in the country, around 300 years ago in the Delft islands.

Tall pigeon cages built with cement and observation peep holes in the Dutch Fort wall can be seen at this site.

Other than that, ruins of two Dutch Forts and stables with 74 pillars are also found on this island dating back to the Dutch period. “There are a number of archaeological monuments in Delf Islands. However, up to now nobody has paid any attention to tap the tourist potential in the islands,” sources said.

“Due to 30 years of terrorist activities, the Archaeological Department was unable to approach sites such as Delft and other historical monuments in this area,” they said. Ancient ruins of two dagobas can be seen in Delft, close to the beach. Tiles which belong to the Anuradhapura period have been found from the dagoba site. According to the Archaeological Department, a number of dagobas were found close to the beach in ancient times all over the island. This means that Sinhala kings wanted to show the dagobas to ships sailing in the vicinity and that ours was a Buddhist country,” the official added.