Kuttam Pokuna through time

Anuradhapura 1871 4 photos of this spot

4 photographs taken at the same spot in Anuradhapura, spanning 1871 — 4 of them from before 1980. Line them up and watch the place change.

The remains of a pokuna, or ancient bathing pond, near the Government Kachcheri in Anuradhapura are recorded in this 1871 photograph, part of the ruins of Sri Lanka's former royal capital, which flourished as a center of Buddhist civilization for over a thousand years.

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Anuradhapura. Remains of a pokuna or bathing pond near the Government Kachchéri, Anuradhapura, 1871

Anuradhapura. Remains of a pokuna or bathing pond near the Government Kachchéri 1871 The remains of a pokuna, or ancient bathing pond, near the Government Kachcheri in Anuradhapura are recorded in this 1871 photograph, part of the ruins of Sri Lanka's former royal capital, which flourished as a center of Buddhist civilization for over a thousand years.

Anuradhapura. Ruins of a pokuna or bathing pond to the north-east of the Brazen Palace, Anuradhapura, 1871

Anuradhapura. Ruins of a pokuna or bathing pond to the north-east of the Brazen Palace 1871 Ruins of another pokuna lie northeast of the Brazen Palace in Anuradhapura in this 1871 view, among the many bathing ponds built to serve the monasteries of the ancient Sri Lankan capital before it was abandoned and later rediscovered by archaeologists.

Kuttam Pokuna 1871 Kuttam Pokuna, the twin ponds of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, photographed in 1871. Built for monks' ritual bathing, these carefully engineered stone pools date from the ancient Anuradhapura Kingdom.

Kuttam Pokuna 1871 Another 1871 view of the Kuttam Pokuna twin bathing pools at Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, an example of the sophisticated hydraulic engineering developed in the ancient city.