Sigiri Fort

 Urban Planning of Sigiriya Fort

The outstanding aspect of Sigiriya's architecture is its urban planning. The Sigiriya city plan can be called one of the best designs among the old Sri Lankan city plans. Sigiriya differs from other urban plans in Sri Lanka in that it was both a place of control for the people and an aesthetic design. It seems that security was taken into account when planning an ancient city. The royal palace was located in the center of the urban complex. Sigiriya is a fortress centered on a gorge. It seems that even though this place is a fort, it was not thought that the security was sufficient, and more security arrangements were made for it. All of Sigiriya's designs are centered around a 600-foot-high isolated rock in a north-south direction. As a result, the city is also planned to be located on a central line that intersects from north to south and west to east in the middle of the rock. The basic design adapts to the main rock and the natural location of the land. Accordingly, the main entrance to the city is in the western half, and the most creative contribution is found in that area. Because of this, Sigiriya takes the shape of a rectangular square oriented west-east.

Floor plan

The salient features of city planning

• Building walls and moats around the city
• Door design
• Environmental connectivity
• Cave design
• Pattern of stone usage (black stone, limestone, brick)

Building walls and moats around the city

According to the fossils found in Sigiriya, it has been found that there were two moats. The widest moat is called the outer moat. Here, the low wall outside is called the outer wall. The brick wall inside the outer moat is called the "middle wall." Beyond the middle wall is a flat floor. Today, this is used as the entrance to Sigiriya town. The entrance moat is located inside this area, and it is narrow but deep. At the end of this moat, the very high inner wall has been completed. Although the outer wall and outer moat are included in the design, the quality of the constructive or architectural construction is poor. Perhaps this was used as a mud pit. But the style of construction of the central wall, inner moat, and inner wall is more interesting. The outer wall is made of earth, the middle wall is made of bricks, and the inner wall is made of stone and then filled with soil and built up. The eastern wall was built twice as far from the Sigiriya rock as the western walls. But the creative form seen here is different from the form on the western side. The inner wall on the eastern side is also built at the same distance as the west but within narrower limits. The outer wall, similar to the western outer wall, seems to have extended to the east about twice as much. But this wall does not have a continuous form of embankment or moat. Perhaps this wall was being completed. 

Door design

According to the design of the Sigiriya complex, many different types of gates have been found to enter it. Especially among the gates at the western entrance, the gate at the entrance from the western inner moat is a very important design. There is no doubt that this very ornate gate is the main gate of the Sigiriya complex. The other main gates of Sigiriya are designed on the north and south sides of the rock. The north gate is facing the side of the Pidurangala rock. The South Gate, seen on the right side of the Sigiriya design, is in every way similar to the North Gate. This gate is also connected by a wall that crosses the moat, and several levels of the moat are visible from this side. The most unique design of all these gates was the Lion Gate, which was the only gate to climb to the top of Sigiriya Rock. While designing the Sigiriya complex, the paths and gates were designed by following various safety measures and based on the natural design. 

Environmental connectivity

One of the most important aspects of Sigiriya's city planning is the contribution of environmental relations to it. The way it has been used for the protection of the city is a characteristic that is not seen in any ancient city, but it can be considered a natural gift to the city of Sigiriya. That is the group of rocks located around Sigiriya Rock. The main one is the Pidurangala rock, located north of Sigiriya. It seems that places like Mapagala, Pethangala, Duvannagala, and Tammannagala in the south are also places that have connections with Sigiriya and Sruju. It is no secret that these places contributed to the security of Sigiriya city. This amazing creation in the middle of a ring of ruins has become a safe kingdom, a planned city, and a beautiful royal palace complex after getting the attention of ancient planners and engineers. 

Garden planning

When considering the gardens of Sigiriya, it is clear that this is one of the oldest gardens in the world. On the western side of the Sigiriya Rocks, the beautiful park is designed with unique architectural features spread across the plains and surrounded by moats and walls. This garden, which has been created in a very systematic and planned manner, especially giving priority to water harvesting, is considered to be the best illustration of the gardens in the Kali Purana in South Asia.

Malaka Park at the base of Sigiriya Rock is divided into three main parts.

Water park
Rock garden
Malacca Park 

Rajamalinga Garden has been completed by following all three garden methods.

Cave design

One of the oldest architectural designs in Sigiriya is the creation of caves. All the caves in Sigiriya are carved with drips. Also, those caves that are carved with drips are found only in the western part. Although caves are found on the eastern side, they do not appear to have been carved.

Nature of stone usage

A striking feature of Sigiriya architecture is the presentation of various designs using stone. Drips in rock caves are considered to be the earliest of the earliest. Also, amazing designs that are not seen anywhere in Lakdi are seen in Sigiriya with the contribution of stone use. The most impressive of these is the Great Catarama carved around the Sigiriya rock. The incredible work that goes into Sigiriya design is true. The construction of this channel, which is 500 feet above the ground and 100 feet below the surface, cutting straight across the northern and western halves, is almost unbelievable. The artisans of that time took care not to leave a single black stone in the town of Sigiriya without design. The construction of Sara ponds inside the rocks can also be seen among the stone works of Sigiriya. Also, in architecture, stones have been widely used for embankments in moats and to create embankments for chains. Apart from black stone, limestone contributes the most to the subject of Sigiriya design. It seems that limestone was brought from outside for architectural designs. Limestone seems to have been used for steps, seats, boredoms, statues, wall stones, water flowers, canal systems, and the floors of buildings. Brick is the dominant material in Sigiriya architecture. Brick constructions and designs can be seen everywhere, from a small comb wall to a large wall. Bricks have been used for the construction of ponds, buildings, chains, and walls, as well as gates. It's incredible to think about how many lakhs of bricks were carried up to Sigiriya Rock for the palace and garden. Two of the most prominent features of Sigiriya brick designs are: That is, the mirror wall on the west side of the Sigiri rock and the huge lion image in the Lion's Feet courtyard, where only the two feet are left. There is ample evidence that wood was also used on a large scale in Sigiriya. It is clear that many of the buildings built on rocks were open pavilions, and wooden posts were used for that. Also, every building is built with roofs. Muldoon tiles are also found among these, which are traditional patheli tiles. Also, many clay pillar heads have been used to decorate the buildings. Having an octagonal base and an octagonal pillar head, these are decorated with ornamental flowers and firework motifs.