Kala Wewa

Kalawewa (Sinhala: කලා වැව) is an ancient reservoir in Anuradhapura District of the North Central Province, Sri Lanka.

This reservoir was built by the King Dhathusena who ruled the country during 455 – 473 CE in the 5th century.

Tamil invaders who arrived from South India ruled the north part of the country during the period from 429 to 455 AD. King Dhathusena defeated the invaders and united the country and then he wanted to rebuild the irrigation system by constructing several tanks, canals, etc., in and round the kingdom of Anuradhapura.

After completion of construction of Kala Wewa, the king built another tank called Balalu Wewa (Sinhala: බලලු වැව) near by and connected the two tanks together making the biggest tank in Sri Lanka. His son King Mahinda II who ruled the country during 777 – 797 CE expanded the tank further. Water of the tank was transferred to the Thisā Wewa (Sinhala: තිසා වැව) in Anuradhapura by an ancient 54 miles (86.9 km) long canal called Jaya Ganga alias Yoda Ella (Sinhala: යෝධ ඇල) which has a fine slope of one feet per mile but according to some historians it is one inch per mile.

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