Low Density Urbanism in Medieval Sri Lanka: Exploring the hinterland of Polonnaruva

A hinterland survey at Polonnaruva has revealed that a planned pluralistic landscape developed during the latter part of the Early Medieval period (A.D. 600-1200). This represents a significant shift in settlement pattern from the organically derived model of Buddhist Temporalities found at the antecedent capital, Anuradhapura. In comparison, settlements around Polonnaruva were larger, longer-lived and evenly distributed. This coincided with a major island-wide shift towards centralization thought to be associated with experimentation with a new model of royal control. Yet, both systems can be described as instances of low density urbanism, suggesting that there was greater variation within this settlement genre than previously anticipated