Ella Ravana Cave prehistoric archaeology: Balangoda Man quartz microliths and rock shelter?
What excavations inside Ravana Cave in Ella recovered prehistoric stone tools and human habitation evidence dating back over 20,000 years?
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4 Answers from travellers
Ravana Cave, located on a sheer cliff face 2km from Ella town, is an important prehistoric archaeological site. Excavations conducted by the Department of Archaeology inside the natural karst limestone shelter recovered abundant evidence of Late Pleistocene human habitation by Balangoda Man (Homo sapiens balangodensis). Finds include geometric quartz microliths, animal bone fragments, polished bone awls, and carbonized hearth charcoal dating back beyond 20,000 years BP. The cave served as a seasonal hunting and foraging shelter across highland rainforest plateaus.
Access requires climbing 650 concrete steps ascending steeply from the Ravana Falls highway parking area through secondary forest.
Local legend associates the cave with the Ramayana epic, claiming King Ravana hid Princess Sita inside its subterranean rock chambers.
Carry a portable flashlight or phone torch to inspect the dark inner limestone recesses of the upper cave chamber.
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