Department of Linguistics Hosts Collaborative Initiative to Digitally Scan Sigiriya Mirror Wall 

The Department of Linguistics at the University of Kelaniya hosted initial discussions on a proposed institutional collaboration to digitally scan the Mirror Wall at Sigiriya on the 19th of February 2025. The meeting was attended by Senior Professor Nilanthi de Silva, Vice Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, and Ven. Dr. Kapugollawe Anandakiththi Thero, Head of the Department of Linguistics, alongside distinguished foreign scholar Dr. Divya Kumar-Dumas, Director of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW) at New York University (NYU). Also present was Professor Mangala Katugampola at the Department of Archaeology, University of Kelaniya.

The collaboration, initiated between ISAW’s Sigiriya Spatial and Landscape Data Collaboration (SSLDC), University of Kelaniya, and the Centre for Heritage Conservation Studies and Technologies (KDWT) at the University of Bamberg (Germany), aimed to develop a comprehensive digital scan of sections of the Mirror Wall at Sigiriya. The project will create a complete digital proxy of the Mirror Wall, preserving all of its inscribed graffiti.

This discussion marked the first step in the initiative, and it was agreed that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) would be signed between the collaborating institutions to formalize the partnership and proceed with the implementation of the project.