Proudly standing Dagoba located in Anuradhapura is an entire site of ancient Sinhala culture which you can experience a fitting climate. It is one of the clusters of tourism sites in Anuradhapura. The monastery complex was built in the 3rd century by King Mahasena (273-301 AD) while leaving another part to be done by his Son Megavanna. The King Mahasena took part in originating this Stupa with the despoilment of Mahavihara and offered to the monk Tissa. Because of an investigation was done by a minister, monk Tissa was expelled. Thereby Dhakashinagiri monks were handed over the Dagoba. Kumbukke dhammarama found this dagoba, covered with a thick jungle in 1909. Polonnaruwe Sohitha thero gained the permission to clean the premise but he couldn’t finish it.
Jetavanarama Dagoba was about 122 m in height, but today it is about approximately 75 m in height. The area covers around 5.6 hectares. The diameter of the basement is about 113 m. Jetavanarama Dagoba is identified as the largest Buddhist building in South Asia built with 93 million bricks. The stupa was built on a foundation which is deep about 8.5 m in height. According to the Mahawansa, the foundation lying was stamped down by elephants whose legs were covered with leather bindings. Further, it took 15 years to complete the construction
At that time it was the 3rd tallest monument of the world. It is believed that the Dagoba constitutes a part of sash tied by Lord Buddha. Close to Dagoba you can go to the Jetavanarama Museum where you can discover for more information, statues , inscriptions and collection of beads made from clay, gold, and gems are positioned proving that Sinhalese were capable of making iron since 2000 years. Close to the Dagoba, we find a ruined monastery which might provide reservations for 3ooo bhikkus. Referring to a British guide in the early 1990s calculated the total spent bricks for the construction and revealed that they were more enough to make a 3 m high wall expanding from London to Edinburgh City.
Crushed Dolomite, sieved sand and the clay were used as the bonding pulp for the bricks as it could stop the movements within the structure. It is recorded that the bricks contained 60 % of sand and 35% of clay.Then the stupa was plastered with a mixture of lime plaster, sugar syrup, oils ,glues ,sand ,clay and water. The foundation was also covered with copper sheets and arsenic diluted in sesame oil to eradicate insects, inside of the dagoba .