Dambulla Golden Temple cave temple frescoes: cleaning bat droppings and soot deposits?
3 Answers from travellers
The painted rock sanctuaries of Dambulla (spanning over 2,000 square meters of ceiling frescoes from Anuradhapura to Kandyan eras) face conservation challenges from historical soot deposits, insect wax, and uric acid leaching from microbat roosts. The Central Cultural Fund (CCF) conservators utilize dry-cleaning mechanical methods (such as vulcanized latex sponges and soft Japanese tissue blotting) followed by chemical solvent poultices using triammonium citrate and chelating agents buffered at neutral pH (6.5-7.0). This lifts hydrophobic soot encrustations while protecting fragile water-soluble vegetable gums and mineral paint layers.
Controlling tourist breath humidity inside Cave 2 (Maharaja Vihara) is critical; elevated carbon dioxide levels accelerate calcium carbonate dissolution on the painted ceiling.
King Nissanka Malla’s 12th-century inscriptions inside Cave 4 record the extensive gilding of over 70 Buddha statues that gave the temple its modern moniker.
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