Anuradhapura was the first capital of the ancient kingdom of Sri Lanka for some 1400 years until the 10 century AD. The great chronicle Mahavamsa attests that the city was founded by King Pandukabhaya in 380 BC. With the introduction of Buddhism in the 4th century BC, the sacred city centered around the Bo-Tree which was planted in 245 BC. It was taken from the original Bo tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment and is one of the oldest known trees in the world. The city spreads approximately through 100 acres (40 Hectares) of land area is home to the ruins of huge stupas, monasteries, Buddha images, and colossal man made lakes and ponds, hospital complexes, storied buildings and stone inscriptions that represent the advanced architectural, civil and hydraulic expertise of ancient Sri Lanka.

In the mid 2nd century B.C, Anuradhapura came under the rule of invaders from South India. The King Dutugamunu, (161-137 BC) united the country and made his capital at Anuradhapura. The art and architecture of the Anuradhapura period was influenced by the religious enthusiasm. The building of stupas, temples, shrines, and monasteries signifies the glory of Buddhism. The stupa is the main feature which enshrined relics of the Buddha that can be compared with the largest pyramids of Egypt. The most outstanding of these are the Ruwanweliseya, built by King Dutugamunu (161-137) and Abhayagiri, built by King Vattagamini (103-89) and the largest of them all, Jetawana founded by King Mahasena (274-301). The emergence of impressive architecture was evident with the craftsmanship of ‘Moonstone’, an elaborately carved semicircular slab of stone, placed at the foot of a stairway leading to the major shrine. The Samadhi statue is considered a masterpiece of statue making of the Anuradhapura period, shows the Buddha in a seated position in deep meditation, and is sculpted from dolomite marble and is datable to the 4th century AD. The Isurumuniya Rock Temple is renowned for its ancient bas-relief sculptures, including those known as The Lovers.

Three vast irrigation reservoirs referred to as ‘tanks’ remain to this day adding beauty to the landscape of the city. As Anuradhapura city was situated in the dry zone, these tanks were built to conserve water to irrigate paddy lands and also supply water to the city. They symbolize Sri Lanka’s highly sophisticated irrigation system of networked storage reservoirs during the Anuradhapura period.