The Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura managed to offer the compulsory Archaeological Excavation training program for the third-year Archaeology special degree students, from the 1st of February – 24th February 2022, at the Trincomalee Project premises of the Central Cultural Fund of Sri Lanka. Under the guidance of the Head of the Department, Prof. Alexander Kapukotuwa, the students were offered the training program following the necessary health guidelines amidst the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic situation in the country.
The undergraduates successfully managed to obtain hands-on experience with the theoretical knowledge they learned in the classroom, such as archaeological excavation techniques, excavation drawings, operating total station, dumpy level and other equipment, archaeological photography, stratigraphic identification and analysis, some conservation methodologies and so on.
The Department of History and Archaeology would like to thank Senior Professor Sudantha Liyanage, the Vice-Chancellor of the USJ, and Prof. Shirantha Heenkenda, the Dean of the FHSS, for making the necessary arrangements to realize this training program. Furthermore, the department expresses gratitude to Prof. Gamini Ranasinghe, the Director-General of the Central Cultural Fund for allowing this training program and Mr. A. Pushpakumara, the Project Manager of the Trincomalee CCF Project, Rev. Mandaramnuvara Chandananda (Research Officer) and their staff for taking care of our students and tirelessly offering them relevant practical knowledge.
