Nalanda Gedige, Ancient stone temple in Matale District, Sri Lanka
Nalanda Gedige is a stone temple in the Matale District of Sri Lanka, made up of an entrance hall, a central sanctuary chamber, and a passageway that runs around the inner core of the building. The structure is built entirely from stone blocks fitted together without mortar, using construction methods brought from South India.
The temple was built between the 8th and 10th centuries, during a time when South Indian architectural styles were spreading through the region and mixing with local religious traditions. An archaeologist working in Ceylon brought it back to wider attention in 1893 after it had long been covered by vegetation.
The carvings on the outer walls show figures and motifs drawn from both Hindu and Buddhist traditions, which visitors can observe up close as they walk around the structure. This mix reflects a period when craftsmen in Sri Lanka worked across religious boundaries without apparent tension.
The site is reached by a short path leading east from the main road, lined with flowering plants that make the approach easy to follow. The ground around the temple is flat and open, so walking the full circuit of the building takes only a few minutes and requires no special footwear.
In the 1980s, the entire temple was carefully dismantled stone by stone and rebuilt at a higher location to keep it out of the water rising from a nearby reservoir project. Each stone was numbered and catalogued before removal so the building could be reassembled in its original form.
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