Polonnaruwa Royal Palace of King Parakramabahu: seven-story brick architecture and burn marks?

The Royal Palace of King Parakramabahu I (1153-1186 AD) in Polonnaruwa—known as Vijayanta Prasada—is recorded in the Culavamsa chronicle as a magnificent seven-story palace containing 1,000 chambers. Surviving ruins comprise massive central brick walls standing three stories high, measuring up to 3 meters in thickness. These heavy walls feature massive rectangular beam sockets cut into the brickwork that supported multi-tiered timber upper floors. In 1215 AD, invading South Indian forces under Kalinga Magha sacked the city; deep calcined soot marks and vitrified brick surfaces inside beam pockets confirm the palace was destroyed in a massive fire.