MONETABRIEF – The 17 gold-plated bronze Buddha statues unearthed from the Abhayagiri excavation site in Anuradhapura will go on public display next month, a senior official in charge of the excavation said.
The discovery of the small, palm-sized statues, believed to be about 1,300 years old, is the most consequential in over three decades, said Thusitha Herath, the project manager for the Central Cultural Fund (CCF), which carries out conservation work.
“We have found several artefacts before, but this is the first time we have seen such a large number of statues,” Herath said. “This is the most significant find in three decades. These will be displayed at the Abhayagiri museum within a month.”
He said the museum itself is receiving a facelift and the small golden Buddhas will be a key attraction.
The CCF has been carrying out excavations and conservation work since 1982, when the Sacred City of Anuradhapura was declared a World Heritage Property by UNESCO.
Chandana Rohana Withanachchi, professor of archaeology at Rajarata University, said the Buddhas found on Tuesday were a significant discovery for understanding the monastic city of Abhayagiri in Anuradhapura.
“This is very important to us because it is an exceptional archaeological discovery made during excavations of the northern rampart of the Abhayagiri complex in Kapalagama village,” Withanachchi told reporters in Anuradhapura.
He said the statues appeared to be about 1,200 to 1,300 years old.
“Based on the style of the Buddha images, they can be dated roughly to the seventh or eighth centuries. The statues display the characteristics of that period.”
Local experts speculate that the statues may have been hurriedly buried at a time of aggression against the city. Sri Lanka’s ancient capitals were the target of repeated invasions.
The Abhayagiri monastic city is believed to have been founded in the 1st century by King Vattagamani Abhaya, also known as Valagamba, and quickly grew into one of the largest and most influential Buddhist centres in ancient Asia.
Located in the northern sector of Anuradhapura, the complex spanned over 500 acres and is believed to have housed upwards of 5,000 monks at its peak.
The area is also known to have embraced a diverse mix of Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana doctrines, which attracted international scholars and pilgrims from as far as China and India. (Colombo/Aug 20/2026)