A Crumbling Stairway, Stone Paws and Monolith in Sri Lanka | Secrets in the Jungle | Science Channel

Sri Lanka is a small island nation about the size of West Virginia lying 40 mil off India's southern coast in Sri Lanka's Central Province temperatures can easily reach into the high 90s with 80% humidity in the sweltering summer months the land is covered in rugged Forest teeming with Wildlife at the heart of this tropical landscape as if exploding from the surrounding jungle is an awe inspiring Rock monolith reaching 660 ft above the rainforest floor the massive Rock filler stands above the landscape visible for miles and yet somehow it was forgotten to the rainforest for more than a thousand years in 1851 British Mountaineers climbed the rock that's known to the locals as searia looking for adventure but they found something all together more extraordinary halfway to the top is a plateau featuring a remarkable crumbling stairway framed by two gigantic Stone Paws the claws of alone are enormous they're the size of an average man leading from the paws and up the sheer rock face are the remains of thousands of crumbling bricks what is this place the remains of thick brick walls and stone foundations indicate that the paws were once connected to a much larger more elaborate design of a complete lion based on the size of the paws the finished lion built a scale would be 114 ft tall and 68 ft wide it's hard to imagine how an enormous Stone lion would have looked standing on the side of this extraordinary Rock its size and placement of the paws are reminiscent of the Great Sphinx of Giza in Egypt Lions have long been used as architectural features to frame a variety of passageways symbolizing protection Prestige peace or Prosperity archaeologists estimate that the lion was built somewhere in the fth century CE so what is this lion protecting it takes approximately 2 hours and 12200 steps to complete this dangerous trip from the base and the last stretch of the Journey Begins at The Lion and the final 300 ft are zigzagging steps to the top the breathtaking Summit is covered by 3.7 Acres of landscaped Gardens Terraces and the foundations of many large structures the Top of the Rock is completely exposed to the elements with little protection from wind rain and sun and its Vantage offers unobstructed 360° views for hundreds of miles whoever lived here either wanted to see or be seen this enormous Rock column is what remains of a long extinct 2 billion year old volcano over time battered by weather volcano eroded away leaving the hardened magma core surrounded by rainforest these kinds of formations also known as volcanic plugs can be found in various places throughout the world including the well-known sight of Devil's Tower in Wyoming and trosy castle in the Czech Republic many of these sites are home to imposing fortresses as a result of their Vantage Point height and striking appearance could seeria be a fortress as well given the limited points of Entry huge rainfed Reservoir and gravity watered Gardens the structure of the summit has a defensive bunker-like quality these features show signs of extraordinary engineering and preparedness water and food at the ready would have been extremely important if the residents found themselves Under Siege barricaded on the summit but down on the ground among the thick trees archaeologists discover massive earn walls in multiple Moes encircling 1 and2 hect of land to the West and East of the rock pillar these walls and Moes are enormous local Legend states that the outer moat now dry was once teaming with [Music] crocodiles whoever built this site went to extraordinary lengths to keep their enemies out and their residents safe within who lived here continuing to explore the site archaeologist just discover in an overhang 330 ft above the ground a series of wall paintings or frescos of beautiful women some experts believe these could be depictions of goddesses or nymphs their style is similar to the frescos in the aant caves in India that show many noble and Powerful women in prominent roles maybe these images at sigara depict the ladies who lived here at the time Ancient Graffiti discovered at the site references the existence of 500 multicolored paintings of women covered approximately 18,000 Square ft of rock now only 19 unidentified paintings remain you might not think of graffiti as an ancient practice but experts believe that the graffiti at securia was written between 600 and 1400 CE the ancient writing is found on a highly polished man-made wall now stained a yellowish orange with age in Sri Lankan mythology there's a mystical City built for the gods called alak camanda it is said to have been built among the clouds and to be the wealthiest and most glorious City imaginable perhaps whoever built this site used that myth as inspiration we tend to think of fortresses as cold Stark utilitarian structures places of necessity not Comfort discoveries like these spectacular paintings a veritable gallery along the rock indicate that sigara might not have been just a fortress but something much more Dynamic archaeologists have cut back the overgrowth of the walled site revealing Acres of heavily manicured Gardens grounds that would have been Fit For A King the grounds are made up of three interconnected Gardens the symmetrically designed Water Garden the organic Boulder Garden and the Terrace Gardens closer to the base of the Rock The Water Gardens use a complex system of hydraulic power to feed the pools and fountains that still function today these Water Gardens and fountains are a feet of engineering the fact that Builders 1500 years ago were able to Envision and construct a hydraulic powered underground tunnel system that uses gravitational forces to feed the pools and fountain mountains of its Gardens is astonishing searia seemed to offer so many Comforts that it would be easy for someone to forget how heavily fortified the site actually was the complex garden layout is similar to the design of many European Castle grounds and even the tajma hall and yet it predates most of them by at least 500 years perhaps Saria was a cast on the island nation of Sri Lanka deep in the jungle discoveries of fortified walls and Moes protecting beautiful works of art and design leave experts questioning the function of a place like Saria archaeologists surveying The Majestic grounds stumble upon hollowed out primitive looking cave shelter in the boulder Gardens below the rock the caves feature handcarved drip Ledges that enhance the natural shape of the Cave's opening and this prevents weather from getting inside this feature is unique to manasik caves in Sri Lanka monks skillfully enhan the natural environment to make it a good place for meditation Buddhism was first brought to Sri Lanka by a mission sent out from East e India in the 3rd Century bcee Buddha was said to have retreated to the Natural caves of the rier hills in India for meditation thus starting a tradition that continues for over a millennium of the 30 cave shelters found eight of them have been inscribed with brahy script an ancient South Asian written language scientists dating the caves believe that they were created between the 3rd Century BCE and the first century CE many hundreds of years before saria's Moes were were dug or Fresco were painted the discovery of the caves proves that humans have been drawn to this rock for over 5,000 years Sri Lankan records indicate that this rock was the site of spiritual practice for Buddhist monks of the time according to translated Buddhist Chronicles King kiapa stole the crown from his brother by imprisoning his father was then buried alive in the walls of his prison cell worried that his brother the rightful Heir would retaliate he began building a fortified Palace at the Rock in 477 CE the king employed thousands of skilled laborers and Artisans who worked draft animals and elephants for years to build sigara to his unique specifications overcome with guilt King kiapa may have been overcompensating with the scale and Majesty of sigar eventually cashi appa's brother and the rightful Heir King datu Cena conquered Saria in 495 CE claiming the relics destroying the palace and ultimately returning the sight to the monks the monks continued to live at Saria for hundreds of years but likely struggled to maintain the entire site letting it fall into disrepair they would have no use for the comfort sigara offered and were even thought to have destroyed many of the frescos over the centuries sigara was progressively abandoned and completely deserted by the monks Levering The Majestic Rock towering over the [Music] rainforest

Channel: Science Channel

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Id: 121deZxYRKQ

Length: 11min 59sec (719 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 29 2024