Some tombs presumably believed to be of the Dutch period was unearthed during archaeological excavations at an old building site belonging to the Galle Municipal Council.
The site located at Peddler Street in Galle Fort was identified as an old grave yard used during the period from 1710 to 1850. Later the Galle Municipal Council had constructed several official residences on the site dispatching a number of tomb stones to the Reformist Church also located in Galle Fort.
However, this site with an archeological value was leased to an entrepreneur by the Galle Municipal Council to construct a tourist hotel.
Southern Province Assistant Director of Archeology Wasantha Alahakoon said they had not permitted the entrepreneur to demolish the existing old buildings and instead directed him to construct new buildings behind the old constructions without harming them.
“We asked them to preserve the old buildings and maintain them. The person who obtained the land on lease submitted a building plan to the Municipal Planning Committee. Before granting permission to build new constructions, we are exploring the site and make arrangements to preserve everything on the site that has archeological value,”Alahakoon said.
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