The Archaeology Department says that no damage has been caused to any artefacts or historical sites surrounding the ancient Tissa Wewa tank in Tissamaharama by the recent dredging and cleaning up activity by a Chinese joint venture (JV).
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, the Archaeology Department Director General Prof. Anura Manatunga said that according to the preliminary report in relation to the probe conducted by the Archaeology Department into the dredging of the Tissa Wewa tank, it was observed that no damage had been caused to any artefacts and or historical sites in the area.
He noted: “The Chinese JV had not obtained permission to dredge and clean up the tank. Therefore, we temporarily suspended the operation until we completed the necessary protocols. Usually, before starting these kinds of projects, we have to mandatorily conduct an Archaeological Impact Assessment.”
Prof. Manatunga reiterated that the main mistake that was made was that the Chinese JV had not informed the relevant authority of this in order to conduct an Archaeological Impact Assessment before commencing the project.
He added that the Archaeology Department had since deployed a special team to conduct the assessment and that after following the necessary protocols, the Chinese JV could recommence the project.
Earlier, Cabinet Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Army had conducted an investigation into whether the Antiquities Ordinance or any other law had been violated during the process of cleaning up the ancient tank.