Bogoda Wooden Bridge
Encyclopedia
Bogoda wooden bridge was built in the 16th century during the period of Dambadeniya
era. This is said to be the oldest surviving wooden bridge in the world. The bridge is situated at 13 km south of Badulla
city, Sri Lanka
. All parts of this bridge was constructed by woods using wooden nails as fixing material. The roof tiles show the influence of Kingdom of Kandy
. The bridge was built across the Gallanda Oya, which linked Badulla and Kandy
ancient route.
The structure of the bridge is standing on a huge tree trunk 35 ft in height. Jack fruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) logs and Kumbuk (Terminalia arjuna
) logs were mainly used as the constructive material of the bridge. Furthermore Kaluwara (Diospyros ebenum
) timber and Milla timber were used for the wooden decorations.
. Stone inscription by the temple in Brahmin
scripture says the temple was donated to a priest called Brahmadatta by Tissa, a provincial leader in Badulla.
Inside of the temple were elaborated with lovely paintings,bearing resemblance to the Kandyan era. The walls were built with a paste made of cotton wool, bee honey
and extracted and purified white clay. The paintings were drawn on this walls.
Kingdom of Dambadeniya
-Founding:Four kings ruled from here. They were,# Vijayabahu III # Parakramabahu II # Vijayabahu IV # Bhuvanekabahu I The first king to choose Dambadeniya as his capital was Vijayabahu III...
era. This is said to be the oldest surviving wooden bridge in the world. The bridge is situated at 13 km south of Badulla
Badulla
Badulla , is the capital of Uva Province, Sri Lanka. Badulla is located 60 km southeast of Kandy, almost encircled by the Badulu Oya River, about 680 metres above sea level and is surrounded by picturesque hills and mountains, most of which have tea plantations.-Geography:It is located on the...
city, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. All parts of this bridge was constructed by woods using wooden nails as fixing material. The roof tiles show the influence of Kingdom of Kandy
Kingdom of Kandy
Kingdom of Kandy was an important independent monarchy of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century...
. The bridge was built across the Gallanda Oya, which linked Badulla and Kandy
Kandy
Kandy is a city in the center of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is one of the most scenic cities in Sri Lanka; it is both an...
ancient route.
Description
The Bogoda bridge is over 400 year old and made entirely out of wooden planks which are said to have come from one tree. It is an exclusive construction as it has an 8 feet tall tiled roof structure for its entire span of nearly 50 feet length with a 6 feet breadth. The archeologists believe there were two reasons for the roof over the bridge. One for shelter and second for protection from the wilderness. Wooden fences of the bridge was decorated in various ancient designs, have been erected on either sides.The structure of the bridge is standing on a huge tree trunk 35 ft in height. Jack fruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) logs and Kumbuk (Terminalia arjuna
Terminalia arjuna
Terminalia arjuna is a tree of the genus Terminalia.-Description:...
) logs were mainly used as the constructive material of the bridge. Furthermore Kaluwara (Diospyros ebenum
Diospyros ebenum
Diospyros ebenum is a species of tree occurring in southern India and Sri Lanka. It is best known for being one of the trees that yield ebony; the wood of this tree is called Ceylon Ebony or India Ebony, but often simply called "ebony"....
) timber and Milla timber were used for the wooden decorations.
Bogoda Temple
Bogoda Buddhist temple is an ancient temple situated beside the Bogoda wooden bridge. The temple has much longer history than the bridge. It is came from 1st century BC, during the period of Anuradhapura era. The temple was built by the under instruction of King ValagambaValagamba of Sri Lanka
Valagamba, also known as Vattagamani Abhaya and Valagambahu, was a king of the Anuradhapura Kingdom of Sri Lanka. Five months after becoming king, he was overthrown by a rebellion and an invasion from South India, but regained the throne by defeating the invaders after fourteen years...
. Stone inscription by the temple in Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
scripture says the temple was donated to a priest called Brahmadatta by Tissa, a provincial leader in Badulla.
Inside of the temple were elaborated with lovely paintings,bearing resemblance to the Kandyan era. The walls were built with a paste made of cotton wool, bee honey
Honey bee
Honey bees are a subset of bees in the genus Apis, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of perennial, colonial nests out of wax. Honey bees are the only extant members of the tribe Apini, all in the genus Apis...
and extracted and purified white clay. The paintings were drawn on this walls.