OneCeylon
All questions

Dambulla rock-cut drip-ledges (Katarama): ancient granite chiseled rainwater diversion engineering?

Seen by 1,290 travellers
Jump to the accepted answer
D
Dr Rohan Chisel•950 rep

What chisel geometry and acute undercut angles did ancient stonemasons carve along the Dambulla cliff brow to protect the five cave temples from rain erosion?

25

4 Answers from travellers

✓Accepted Answer

The preservation of Dambulla’s 2,000 square meters of cave frescoes is due to ancient hydraulic engineering: the Katarama (rock-cut drip-ledge). Chiseled across the brow of the granite rock shelf in the 1st century BC under King Valagamba, the Katarama is a continuous horizontal groove 8 to 12cm wide with a sharp, acute undercut lower edge. Rainwater cascading down the sloping 160-meter rock face hits this sharp groove, breaking surface-tension adhesion and falling as a curtain of water 5 meters clear of the cave portals, keeping interior plaster ground dry.

39
D
Dr Senarath CCF•1920 rep

Early Brahmi dedication inscriptions are incised directly beneath the drip-ledge, recording donations of cave cells to the Buddhist Sangha by royal patrons.

22
D
Dr Rohan Chisel•950 rep

Without the functional Katarama, monsoonal rainwater would sheet across cave ceilings, dissolving the slaked-lime plaster and washing away mineral pigments.

18
G
Guru Dharmasena Wood•1830 rep

Archaeological staff clear dead leaves and moss from the upper rock drainage channels annually prior to the onset of the Northeast Monsoon.

14
S
Sarah Field Scout•1720 rep

You must be logged in to post an answer.

Log In to Answer

Related questions

Browse all questions