Restoration works at the Deegawapiya Stupa are Progressing Continuously
Posted on September 1st, 2025
Ministry of Defence – Media Centre
‘Deegawapiya’ graced by the Lord Buddha is renowned as one of the sacred ancient religious sites among the sixteen places of worship of the Buddhist devotees, located in the Ampara District of the Eastern Province.
This Stupa, believed to have been constructed around the 3rd century CE, is recorded in historical sources as having been built during the reign of ‘King Saddhatissa’ and as containing the relics of Lord Buddha. The Stupa was destroyed during various hostile attacks and was first restored in later times during the Kandy kingdom by King ‘Keerti Sri Rajasingha’. After further episodes of destruction, fragments of the Stupa were rediscovered in 1916 by the Venerable Kohukumbure Sri Revatha Thero.
Because of more than three decades of armed conflict, the Deegawapiya Stupa received no attention for many years. Restoration work began on 11 November 2020 under the full supervision of the Ministry of Defence and according to instructions from the Department of Archaeology, and construction has since been carried out with labour contributions from members of the Sri Lanka Army and Civil Security Forces.
From that time construction of the Stupa proceeded continuously. By the end of 2022 the relic chamber had reached a height of about 60 feet, and by the end of 2024 it reached about 70 feet. According to a recent survey carried out up to 25 August 2025, the relic chamber’s height has now been completed to approximately 72 feet 4 inches. Once fully restored, the Deegawapiya Stupa regarded as the largest Stupa in the Eastern Province, will have a total height of 268 feet 6 inches.
Members of the Sri Lanka Army and Civil Security Forces produce the bricks required for the Stupa restoration, manufacturing roughly 6,000 bricks per day. More than 700 members of the Army and Civil Security Forces are providing full labour support for the restoration works, while financial advances for the sputa’s restoration and conservation are being provided through donations from local and foreign Buddhist devotees.