Image title: Ancient stone stool

English text:

Ancient stone stool — This stone stool was discovered from an ancient ship wreck at a location close to the ancient port in Godavaya. Similar stone stools were recovered from the Yatala Dagaba in Thissamaharama. They bear small letters inscribed with Brahmi characters. Two symbols i.e. Sri vatsa and Nandipada of Ashtamangala are depicted on this stool too. The function value of these stool is not known.

Sinhala text (not proofread):

පුරාණ ගල් බංකුව — මෙම ගල් බංකුව සොයා ගන්නා ලද්දේ අම්බලන්තොට පිහිටි පැරණි ගොඩවාය වරායට නුදුරු මුහුදේ ගිලී ගිය පැරණි නැවකිනි. තිස්සමහාරාමයේ යටාල දාගැබින් සොයා ගෙන තිබෙන මේ හා සමාන ගල් බංකුවල ක්‍රි.පූ. දෙවන සියවසට අයත් කළ හැකි බ්‍රාහ්මීය අක්ෂර වලින් ලියන ලද කුඩා ලිපියක් දක්නට තිබේ. මෙම ගල් බංකුවේ ද අෂ්ට මංගල ලකුණු වලට අයත් ශ්‍රී වත්ස්‍ය, නන්දිපාද යන ලකුණු කොටා තිබේ. මෙවැනි ගල් බංකු කුමන අවශ්‍යතාවයක් සඳහා භාවිත කරන ලද්දක් දැයි නිශ්චිත නැත.

Transcription:

purāṇa gal baṅkuva — mema gal baṅkuva soyā gannā laddē ambalantoṭa pihiṭi pæraṇi goḍavāya varāyaṭa nuduru muhudē gilī giya pæraṇi nævakini. tissamahārāmayē yaṭāla dāgæbin soyā gena tibena mē hā samāna gal baṅkuvala kri.pū. devana siyavasaṭa ayat kaḷa hæki brāhmīya akṣara valin liyana lada kuḍā lipiyak daknaṭa tibē. mema gal baṅkuvē da aṣṭa maṅgala lakuṇu valaṭa ayat śrī vatsya, nandipāda yana lakuṇu koṭā tibē. mevæni gal baṅku kumana avaśyatāvayak sandahā bhāvita karana laddak dæyi niśchita næta.

Transcription:

purana gal bankuva — mema gal bankuva soya ganna ladde ambalantota pihiti parani godavaya varayata nuduru muhude gili giya parani navakini. tissamaharamaye yatala dagabin soya gena tibena me ha samana gal bankuvala kri.pu. devana siyavasata ayat kala haki brahmiya akshara valin liyana lada kuda lipiyak daknata tibe. mema gal bankuve da ashta mangala lakunu valata ayat shri vatsya, nandipada yana lakunu kota tibe. mevani gal banku kumana avashyatavayak sandaha bhavita karana laddak dayi nishchita nata.

Automated translation (not verified):

Ancient Stone Bench — This stone bench was found from an ancient shipwreck in the sea near the old Godavaya harbor at Ambalantota. Similar stone benches found in Yatala Dagabin in Tissamaharama date back to BC. A small letter written in Brahmi script, which may belong to the second century, has been found. This stone bench also has Sri Vatsya and Nandipada marks belonging to Ashta Mangala marks. It is not certain for what purpose these stone benches were used.

Tamil text (not proofread):

புராதன கல் ஆசனம் — புராதன கொடவாய் துறைமுகத்திற்கு அருகில் நின்ற சேதமடைந்த கப்பலில் இருந்து இக்கல் ஆசனம் கண்டுபிடிக்கப்பட்டது. இதே போன்று திஸ்ஸமகாராமையிலுள்ள யட்டால வெகரயில் உள்ள கல் ஆசனங்களில் கிறிஸ்துவிற்கு முன் எழுதப்பட்ட சிறிய கல்வெட்டுக்களைக் காணலாம். இந்தக் கல்லாசனத்திலும் அஸ்ட மங்கள இலட்சணங்களில் இரண்டாகிய சிறிவஸ்த, மற்றும் நந்திபாத என்பவற்றைக் காணலாம். இக்கலாசனங்கள் எவற்றுக்காக உபயோகிக்கப்பட்டது என உறுதியாக சொல்ல முடியாதுள்ளது.

Transcription:

purātaṉa kal ācaṉam — purātaṉa koṭavāy tuṟaimukattiṟku arukil niṉṟa cētamaṭainta kappalil iruntu ikkal ācaṉam kaṇṭupiṭikkappaṭṭatu. itē pōṉṟu tissamakārāmaiyiluḷḷa yaṭṭāla vekarayil uḷḷa kal ācaṉaṅkaḷil kiṟistuviṟku muṉ eḻutappaṭṭa ciṟiya kalveṭṭukkaḷaik kāṇalām. intak kallācaṉattilum asṭa maṅkaḷa ilaṭcaṇaṅkaḷil iraṇṭākiya ciṟivasta, maṟṟum nantipāta eṉpavaṟṟaik kāṇalām. ikkalācaṉaṅkaḷ evaṟṟukkāka upayōkikkappaṭṭatu eṉa uṟutiyāka colla muṭiyātuḷḷatu.

Transcription:

purathana kal asanam — purathana kodavay thuraimugathirku arugil ninra sethamadaintha kappalil irunthu ikkal asanam kandupidikkappattathu. ithe ponru thissamagaramaiyilulla yattala vegarayil ulla kal asanangalil kiristhuvirku mun ezhuthappatta siriya kalvettukkalaig kanalam. inthag kallasanathilum asda mangala iladsanangalil irandagiya sirivastha, marrum nanthipatha enpavarraig kanalam. ikkalasanangal evarrukkaga upayogikkappattathu ena uruthiyaga solla mudiyathullathu.

Automated translation (not verified):

Ancient Stone Asana — This stone asana was found from a wrecked ship lying near the ancient port of Kodavai. Similarly, small pre-Christian inscriptions can be found on the stone seats at Yatala Vegara in Dissamakaram. Srivastha and Nandipatha, two of the asta mangala symbols, can be seen in this kallasana. It is not certain what these kalasanas were used for.

Gallery information:

These photos were taken at the Maritime Museum in Galle (Sri Lanka) which include objects recovered from the 2nd century B.C. Godawaya shipwreck. The Maritime Museum is housed in Galle's historic Dutch warehouse (built in 1671) and opened its doors on May 9, 1992. The Maritime Archaeology Museum is serving as a centre of education for various groups of visitors and researchers of Southern region of Sri Lanka.