Anuradhapura cross is one of the archaeological claims that suggest Christianity in Sri Lanka before Portuguese. Roman Catholicism was introduced by the Portuguese in 1505.[1]
The Cross of Anuradhapura or Anuradhapura cross is a form of the Christian cross symbol. It is the most ancient symbol of Christianity in Sri Lanka.
The cross was discovered in 1912 during archaeological excavations in Anuradhapura. It is cut in sunk relief on the side of a smooth granite column of which a fragment was excavated. An immediate determination about the cross came from the Archaeological Commissioner of Ceylon, Edward R. Ayrton, who concluded that it was a Portuguese cross. In 1924, Ayrton’s successor, Arthur Maurice Hocart, put more effort to clarify the cross and he described it in his publication, Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of Ceylon, as being “a cross of a floret type standing on a stepped pedestal from which emanates two fronds on each side of the cross like horns”. Hocart also concluded it was a Portuguese cross. Both men considered that it was a Nestorian cross or “Persian Cross” from the Portuguese era. A number of historical records also suggest that Assyrian Church of the East may have been in Sri Lanka between the middle fifth and sixth centuries. There, it is believed that the cross was dated to the Anuradhapura period. Meanwhile, whilst it was considered as a Portuguese cross these claims are questionable given various historic facts, notably that the Portuguese did not have a presence in Anuradhapura at the time.
Discussion about this post