SACREDNESS, LIVINGNESS AND CULTURAL HARMONY DESTROYED BY THE HEGEMONIC HERITAGE CONSERVATION; A CASE STUDY RELATED TO KŪRAGALA ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELD, SRI LANKA

Abstract

A country’s heritage is a factor that directly or indirectly affects all sub-fields of that country, such as social, economic, political and cultural.  Since something is considered heritage by a person or group, the definition of heritage is influenced by the opinion of that person of group. Therefore, defining something as heritage is a matter of caution. This is because if heritage is not carefully defined, it affects all of the areas mentioned above. This study also focuses on the Kūragala archaeological site, a heritage area that has created problems and conflicts due to ideological and functional weaknesses in the definition of such heritage.  This site can be identified as an area that that initiated a racial conflict due to the unilateral intervention in the conservation of a heritage area with remains belonging to both Buddhist and Muslim communities.  This study aims to identify the problem that has developed in Kūragala, investigate the factors that have influenced the creation of such a problem and suggest effective solutions that can be used to solve the problem.  Also getting an idea of a suitable model for an approach that does not cause problems in heritage conservation is also done here.