Edward's Pillar

Edward's Pillar or Galle Tower is a masonry column, which was used as a trigonometrical altitude station, located on the summit of Rumassala Kanda in Unawatuna.[1]

The 15.3 m (50 ft) high column is located upon the hill, 80.4 m (264 ft) above sea level.[2] Originally painted white it also served as a leading navigational mark for vessels entering the western channel into Galle Harbour.[3][4] The pillar was erected in 1875 by W. Burton of the Ceylon Survey Department for trigonometrical work.[1] The station was originally recorded as "Top of Galle Tower or Gibson's Hill near Galle Harbour". Gibson's Hill, now known as Rumassala Kanda,[5] was named after William Carmichael Gibson, the first English Master Attendant of Galle Harbour, who resided on the hill.[1][6]

Some locals, incorrectly, believe that it was erected as a fake lighthouse during World War I or served as a military lookout.[7]

On 6 July 2007 it was formally recognised by the Government as an Archaeological Protected Monument.[8]

References
  1. Situge, Hemantha (January 2001). "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka". The Galle Tower or Eward's Pillar. Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka. 46: 123-126.
  2. Great Britain Hydrographic Department (1892). The Bay of Bengal Pilot (pilot guide). Great Britain Hydrographic Department. p. 55-56.
  3. Findlay, Alexander George (1870). A Directory for the Navigation of the Indian Ocean, with Descriptions of Its Coasts, Islands, Etc: From the Cape of Good Hope to the Strait of Sunda and Western Australia, Including Also the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf; the Winds, Monsoons, and Currents, and the Passages from Europe to Its Various Ports. London: Richard Holmes Laurie. p. 848.
  4. United States Hydrographic Office (1931). Sailing Directions for the West Coast of India from Point Calimere to Cape Monze Including Ceylon, Pamban Pass, and Palk Gulf: Issued Under Authority of the Secretary of the Navy. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 169.
  5. Ainsworth, William Harrison, ed. (1856). "The New Monthly Magazine". 107. London: Chapman and Hall: 361. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. Lewis, John Penry (1913). List of inscriptions on tombstones and monuments in Ceylon, of historical or local interest, with an obituary of persons uncommemorated. Dalcassian Publishing Company. p. 184.
  7. "The legacy of Unawatuna". Sunday Observer. 15 September 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  8. "Part I : Section (I) — General Government Notifications" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. 1505. 6 July 2007.

See also
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