Medirigiriya Vatadage and Ancient Hospital
Medirigiriya Vatadage is an ancient structure located in Sri Lanka’s cultural triangle linking back to pre-Christian times. It was built during the reign of King Kanittha Tissa of the Anuradhapura era, according to some important historical records. This architectural jewel is on a small rock, A substantial long staircase with 27 steps leading to the top of the massive stone block, which is in front of the main structure, is around 10 feet tall and 5 feet wide. A one meter high stone wall is found around the stupa house. Three rings of concrete pillars with elaborately carved tops to hold the wooden roof consists of 16 columns in the inner circle, 20 in the middle circle, and 32 on the outermost circle.
The four entrances facing the cardinal points have four Buddha statues, which is common in Vatadage structures. At the center of the Stupa a vast 33 feet-long sleeping Buddha was placed.
Even though standing over two millennia, the gracefulness and awesomeness of the entire architecture display the artistry of ancient Sri Lanka.
The other buildings in the Medirigiriya complex such as a few small stupas and statues, as well as the remains of a monastery, a medicine trough, and the remains of a toilet is stretched to an area of 250 acres which was initially 600 acres was sold or destroyed as a part of development of this area.
A perfectly squared shaped building situated 50 meters North of Medirigiriya Vatadage is identified as an advanced ancient hospital. The building is constructed as two squares occupying an area of 249.64 square meters. The outer square has 33 stone pillars, and the inner square has 20 pillars. The inner square court has rooms with doors for inmates, and a corridor encircles it. The main entrance is on the east side of the complex.
A well-preserved medicine boat also can be seen here, which is a common feature in all ancient hospitals in Sri Lanka. This boat is made out of a very hard rock so that the medicine would not get absorbed by the the rock. The cavity is built to fit any human. The stone trough used for immersion therapy is now placed near the image house by the Department of Archaeology with the purpose of safekeeping. This has an external length of 2.3 metres, weight of 0.64 metres and 0.58 metres of height.
