A towering brick image house whose roofless walls soar around a great headless standing Buddha, one of Polonnaruwa's most dramatic ruins.

Overview

Lankatilaka is a colossal gedige, or brick image house, standing amid the ruins of the Alahana Pirivena monastery. Two immense brick walls rise some 17 metres, framing a huge standing Buddha statue that has lost its head but retains its powerful presence. The intricately moulded brick facade, decorated with miniature shrines and once vividly painted, gives a vivid sense of the scale and ambition of Polonnaruwa's architecture.

History

The image house was built in the 12th century by King Parakramabahu I as the centrepiece of the Alahana Pirivena, a monastic university on the slopes above the city. Its brick vault has long since collapsed, leaving the tall side walls open to the sky. It forms part of the UNESCO-listed Ancient City of Polonnaruwa.