A 42-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of carrying out an illegal excavation in search of archaeological artefacts in the Damana Police Division, police said.
The suspect is a resident of Veyangoda. Officers from the Damana Police Station raided the site in the Bakmitiyawa area on Sunday night (9) acting on a tip-off, police said.
Damana Police are conducting further investigations.
Police have not disclosed what, if anything, was recovered at the site, whether any equipment was seized, or when the suspect is due to be produced in court.
Background
Unauthorised digging for buried artefacts and treasure is a recurring offence in Sri Lanka, and one that carries serious penalties. Under the Antiquities Ordinance, excavating for antiquities without a licence from the Director-General of Archaeology is a criminal offence, and the law vests ownership of undiscovered antiquities in the State.
The digs are typically driven by rumours of buried valuables at or near ancient sites, and archaeologists have repeatedly warned that the damage done to the stratigraphy of a site is often irreversible even when nothing is found. Arrests are reported regularly from the North Central, Eastern and Uva provinces, where historic settlement sites are widely distributed.
Damana is in the Ampara District, an area with a dense concentration of ancient Buddhist monastic sites.
Source: Ada Derana.
