An Archaeobotanical Perspective on the “Vetkol Flower” in Sigiri Graffiti, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Sigiriya, the World Heritage archaeological site is famous for rock shelter and rock wall frescoes. The mirror wall graffiti written between the 8^th – 10^th century describing the Sigiriya frescoes offer analogies based on the flowers of the Luffa genus, a common plant family of gourds found in the tropics. In this article an analysis of the ethnoarchaeological aspects of these early writings and an archaeobotanical perspective on the sponge gourd flowers are presented.