බටදොඹලෙන

Batatotalena Cave - Batadombalena Cave

Useful Information

Location:	Kuruwita, Sudagala. 85 km from Colombo. (6.776507, 80.395949)
Open:	All year Mon-Fri 9-17, Sat 10-16. [2023]
Fee:
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	L=24 m, H=15 m, W=18 m.
Guided tours:
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	Kenneth A. R. Kennedy, Siran U. Deraniyagala (1989): Fossil remains of 28,000-year old hominids from Sri Lanka Current Anthropology, Vol. 30, No. 3. (Jun., 1989), pp. 394–399. Kenneth A. R. Kennedy, T. Disotell, W. J. Roertgen, J. Chiment, J. Sherry (): Biological anthropology of upper Pleistocene hominids from Sri Lanka: Batadomba Lena and Beli Lena caves Ancient Ceylon 6: 165-265. Kenneth A. R. Kennedy, Siran U. Deraniyagala, W. J. Roertgen, J. Chiment, T. Disotell (1987): Upper Pleistocene fossil hominids from Sri Lanka American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 72: 441-461, 1987. A. Sumanarathna, B. Madurapperuma, J. Kuruppuarachchi, et al. (2016): Morphological Variation and Speciation of Acavidae Family: A Case Study from Fossil and Living Species of Batadombalena Cave Pre-historic Site in Sri Lanka Annals of Valahia University of Targoviste, Geographical Series, 16(2), pp. 59-68. DOI pdf
Address:	Batatotalena Cave, Kuruwita, Sri Lanka 70500, Tel: +94-772-525-738, Tel: +94-76-735-1824. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

Description

බටදොඹලෙන (Batatotalena Cave) is a natural shelter where archaeologists discovered the remains of Balangoda Manawaya (Balangoda Man, Homo sapiens balangodensis It was inhabited since 10,000 BP. According to Cambridge University archaeologist Professor Paul Mellars, the site supports the Out of Africa hypothesis.

There is a second cave which is called Batadombalena Cave nearby, also known as Diva Guhava. This cave is also an archaeological site. It's best to visit bot caves together.