Dr. Divya Kumar-Dumas Speaks on Sigiriya, Sri Lankan UNESCO World Heritage Site, for CCL Conversations Series

We were happy to host Dr. Divya Kumar-Dumas (Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, NYU) for a CCL Conversation on April 14. She presented her work on the “Mirror Wall” at the World Heritage Site of Sigiriya in Sri Lanka. This wall is inscribed with c.1800 poems written in the Sri Lankan language of Sinhala between the 7th and 13th centuries and serves as a rich commentary on the meaning and experience of Sigiriya. Dr. Kumar-Dumas’ site analysis is grounded in landscape architecture and humanistic inquiry, giving her special insight into designed space and its effects. A lively conversation opened up questions of bodily experience, the persistence of significant landscapes, and the richness of analyzing an ancient site through the words of its contemporaneous visitors.

— Dr. Jessica Sewell, CCL Associate Director