The site

Sigiriya, the Lion Rock, is an ancient fortress in central Sri Lanka set atop a sheer granite column rising some 180 metres from the surrounding plain. King Kashyapa chose the summit for his new capital in the late 5th century CE, building his palace there, decorating the rock's sides with colourful frescoes, and framing a stairway halfway up within the paws of an enormous lion gateway that gives the place its name. Abandoned after his death and later a Buddhist monastery, it survives as a World Heritage Site and a landmark of early urban planning.

Field notes

civilizations

Sinhalese

types

Village

occupied

477 CE — 1,155 CE

country

Sri Lanka

elevation

349 m above sea level