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Two rare 17th and 18th century historical works on Ceylon restored with Dutch expertise

Published

2 years ago

2024/09/9

The Pathfinder Foundation has been bringing together and preserving artefacts of historical value that relate to Sri Lanka’s history and culture.

The ‘Pathfinder Collection’ consists of a wide range of historically significant artefacts of Sri Lanka, including an extensive collection of antiquarian books written by Sri Lankan and foreign authors covering various facets of Sri Lanka. These include some of the earliest works ever printed in or about Sri Lanka. Of these are copies of two of the most well-known works on Ceylon written by Europeans.

The first is Robert Knox’s ‘An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon’ (1681). The second is the account of the island written by the Dutch missionary Philip Baldeus, who resided in Jaffna, ‘A True and Exact Description of Malabar…& Ceylon’ (1672). The original work was published in Dutch and was later translated and published in London in the mid-18th century. Interestingly, a piece of the tamarind tree in Jaffna, under which Baldeus used to preach, is also in the Collection. This tree (depicted in the book) was cut down by the Government in the 1950s. The National Archives used wood from the same tree to make a cover for the copy of the Baldeus’ book held by them.

These two rare books were meticulously restored with expertise from the professional restorer of paper and books, Elizabet Nijhoff Asser, from the Netherlands. Earlier, an ola leaf manuscript from the Kandyan Period of the 13th century, ‘Buthsarana’ from the Pathfinder Collection, was restored by the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Sri Jayawardenapura.

The Pathfinder Collection includes over 6,000 books collected over the course of four generations by several family members of Milinda Moragoda, containing a large number of the most important books written on Sri Lanka covering the subjects of history, religion, literature, wildlife, nature, art, culture, botany, agriculture, anthropology, archaeology, sociology, politics, economics, and business.

It is a veritable time capsule of Sri Lanka’s history from the earliest to modern times. Also belonging to the Collection are a diverse group of prints, maps, watercolours, coins, stamps, and an extensive collection of seashells. This diverse range of artefacts offers a unique and comprehensive insight into Sri Lanka’s rich history and culture. A bird collection of exotic parrots, lories, lorikeets, and fish comprise its living collection.

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CEYPETCO Fuel prices increased from midnight today (21)

Published

8 mins ago

2026/03/21

Priyan

The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (Ceypetco) has announced a revision of fuel prices, effective from midnight today (21).

Accordingly,

Auto Diesel – Rs. 382 (increased by Rs. 79)

Super Diesel – Rs. 443 (increased by Rs. 90)

Petrol 92 Octane – Rs. 398 (increased by Rs. 81)

Kerosene – Rs. 255. (increased by Rs. 60)

Petrol 95 Octane – Rs. 455 (increased by Rs. 90)

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Advisory for Severe Lightning issued for Galle, Matara, Kaluthara and Rathnapura districts

Published

7 hours ago

2026/03/21

Priyan

Advisory for Severe Lightning Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre Issued at 12.30 p.m. 21 March 2026, valid for the period until 11.00 p.m. 21 March 2026

Thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur at some places in the Galle, Matara, Kaluthara and Rathnapura districts after 1.00 p.m.

There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers. General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

ACTION REQUIRED:

The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:

 Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.

 Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.

 Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.

 Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.

 Beware of fallen trees and power lines.

 For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.

News

Sri Lanka says it denied US request to land two aircraft at Mattala airport

Published

12 hours ago

2026/03/21

Priyan

Sri Lanka’s president says his government turned down a request from the United States to land two US combat aircraft at a civilian airport earlier this month.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told Sri Lanka’s parliament on Friday that Washington had requested permission for the aircraft to land at Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in southern Sri Lanka from March 4 to 8.

The request was made on February 26, two days before the US and Israel launched their military offensive against Iran.

“They wanted to bring two warplanes armed with eight antiship missiles from a base in Djibouti”, Dissanayake told lawmakers. “We turned down the request to maintain Sri Lanka’s neutrality”, he added to applause.

The US-Israeli war on Iran has sparked widespread concern globally, as Iranian missile and drone attacks across the wider Middle East have sent energy prices soaring and fuelled fears of a widening conflict.

US President Donald Trump has also been pressuring Washington’s allies to show more support for the war, slamming NATO countries as “cowards” for refusing to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has essentially shuttered the critical Gulf waterway amid the war, forcing leaders around the world to scramble to try to offset the effects on their economies and energy supplies.

Amid the turmoil, many countries have refused to get directly involved in the war while calling for urgent de-escalation.

On Friday, Switzerland announced that it would halt any weapons exports to the US that could be used in military operations against Iran, citing its longstanding policy of neutrality.

“The export of war materiel to countries involved ⁠in the international armed conflict with Iran cannot be authorised for the duration of the conflict”, the Swiss government said.

Sri Lanka’s president also cited his country’s neutrality in the decision to deny the US request to land the two aircraft at Matalla airport earlier this month.

Dissanayake said he had received another request that same day, on February 26, from Iran to seek permission for three naval vessels to make a goodwill visit to Sri Lanka.

“With two requests before us, the decision was clear,” he said, noting that the government denied both to avoid taking sides as signs of escalating conflict emerged.

“Had we said ‘yes’ to Iran, we would have had to say ‘yes’ to the US, as well”, Dissanayake added.

In early March, Sri Lanka’s navy rescued 32 Iranian crew off IRIS Dena after it was torpedoed by a US submarine off the country’s coast, killing at least 84 people.

Days later, Sri Lanka evacuated more than 200 crew members from a second Iranian vessel, IRIS Bushehr, after the ship requested assistance from Colombo.

[Aljazeera]