Conserving the Temple of the Tooth Relic, Sri Lanka

Bibliographic Data

ID22993232
AuthorsGamini Wijesuriya (corresponding author)
Year2000
Volume1
Issue2
Pages99-108
Publication date2000-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePublic Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1465-5187 • E-ISSN: 1753-5530
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1179/pua.2000.1.2.99
OpenAlexW2022057422
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited1

The Temple of the Tooth Relic of the Buddha is the most sacred Buddhist site in Sri Lanka. The Temple complex is on the World Heritage List. It was bombed on 25th January 1998 by Tamil terrorists who are fighting for a separate state within the country. As an actively used monument belonging to a living religious tradition, comprehensive restoration was considered necessary. Yet the restoration process became much more than a technical job, guided by professional conservation ethics. Because of its symbolic value within the Buddhist community, the conservators were faced with negotiating a host of political, social and religious issues. The author, who was the Conservator in charge of the project, describes how underlying cultural values affected the restoration process.

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Buddhism · Cultural heritage · Environmental ethics · Gautama Buddha · Negotiation · Political science · Politics · Sociology · South asia · Sri lanka · State (computer science) · Tamil · Value (mathematics) · Archaeological Research and Protection · Conservation Techniques and Studies · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · History · Law · Philosophy

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