A focus on the period before 500 BCE, ‘A Lost History’ introduces a collection of historical writing from across the oceans to carry the reader on a fascinating journey through Lanka’s ancient history. Elegantly woven into the narrative are foreign accounts of the pre-historic era of Lanka, placed in a sequence of time to provoke a fresh look at the social, cultural and economic landscape that existed prior to events more formally chronicled.
Gol
Recorded history presumes a script. Fernando’s exploration, prompted by the discovery of Brahmi script in Anuradhapura, the oldest in the subcontinent since Indus Valley civilisation, compels a reassessment of ancient history in Sri Lanka. A revelation in historiography, it could irk many historians as it proposes a reversal in the direction of the spread of knowledge and economy in the region. Others could and must expand the site towards which he has cleared a path.
Malinda Seneviratne
University of Peradeniya
Harvard University, Cornell University
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