Art. II.—The Archaeological Survey of Ceylon and its Work

Extract

Amongst the many objects that occupied the Eleventh International Congress of Orientalists held at Paris, it had the opportunity of noticing also the admirable work done by the Archaeological Survey of Ceylon. According to a proposal which I made in the afternoon meeting of the Indian Section on September 10, the Congress accepted a resolution to express its warmest thanks to the British Government in Colombo for the varied and efficient assistance afforded to the historical inquiry about the island by publishing the Archaeological Reports, as well as by editing the Mahavamsa and similar documents. The Congress hoped also that the work which has been undertaken so auspiciously, will be continued by the Government, and carried out in the same manner. Now I beg to add a few remarks to that resolution, which may explain its origin and its purpose. These remarks are only caused by the anxious desire to make the work of the Archaeological Survey of Ceylon as useful as possible to the scientific world, and they are based upon the experiences which I myself had in making use of its publications for my own historical and linguistic studies.