Stone steps
Neat and even.
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A pair of stone bathing ponds from the Anuradhapura kingdom, among the finest examples of the ancient Sinhalese mastery of water engineering, on the eastern edge of the vast Abhayagiri monastery complex. Despite the name, the twins are not identical: the southern pond is larger, 40 metres by 16, while the northern one is older and smaller, 28 metres long. Neat flights of stone steps lead down into both, their entrances decorated with carved stone pots. They are thought to date from between the 6th and 9th centuries CE. Water passed through a silt trap before pouring in through a stone spout, and an underground stone channel links the two ponds, a refined system for its time. The site is covered by the Anuradhapura ancient city ticket, USD 30 for foreign adults per the Central Cultural Fund. It combines easily with Abhayagiri and the other sites, and half an hour is enough.
Neat and even.
At the entrances.
Refined.
Abhayagiri complex, Anuradhapura
No, the southern pond is larger at 40 metres, while the northern one is older and smaller at 28 metres.