Antiquity Vol 81:313, 2007 pp 699-719 - Robin Coningham et al. - The state of theocracy: defining an early medieval hinterland in Sri Lanka

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Volume: 81 Number: 313 Page: 699–719

The state of theocracy: defining an early medieval hinterland in Sri Lanka

Robin Coningham^¹, Prishanta Gunawardhana^², Mark Manuel^¹, Gamini Adikari^³, Mangala Katugampola^², Ruth Young^⁴, Armin Schmidt^⁵, K. Krishnan^⁶, Ian Simpson^⁷, Gerry McDonnell^⁵ and Cathy Batt^⁵

¹Department of Archaeology, Durham University, UK (Email: r.a.e.coningham@durham.ac.uk) ²Department of Archaeology, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka ³Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka ⁴School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, UK ⁵Department of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford, UK ⁶Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, MS University of Baroda, India ⁷School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, UK

The ancient Sri Lankan city of Anuradhapura is currently the subject of one of the world's largest and most intensive archaeological research projects. Having traced its growth from an Iron Age village to a medieval city, the research team now moves to the task of modelling the surrounding landscape. Three seasons of fieldwork have located numerous sites of which the most prominent in the urban period are monasteries. Here is a clue about how the early urban hinterland was managed which has implications well beyond Sri Lanka.

Keywords: Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, heterarchy, monasticism, survey, theocracy