Abstract:
The objective of this research is to explore and identify the socio-archeological responsibility
of the irrigation industry. This study pays more attention to the various activities that led
to the development of the irrigation industry. More specifically an attempt is made to analyze
the social, political and natural activities that resulted in the development of the irrigation
industry. While studying the socio – archaeological space that affected the development of
the irrigation of ancient Sri Lanka, it is clear that it has been examined as a wide range. Irrigation
is not born alone and it is a procedure, built on the needs of people and developed
gradually because of them.
Water has been a political device and by this time it had come forward with the usage as
“Water politics”, owing to the social validity of water. When considering this concept regarding
Sri Lanka, it is very clear that a long history has been built in the irrigation field. It
seems that since ancient times it was a duty of the state, to give the benefits through water
management to the public, as a basic trick to ensure development. During the pre-historic
era with scattered settlements and little population it was easier to make use of water by
constructing temporary bunds and small tanks to store rain water. However, it is clear that
while the early historical period led to the construction of medium and large scale irrigation
systems, in order to understand the people and the political authority of the society it is not
enough to raise the water use methods further according to the rapid growth of population
expansion. The potential separations of the three main areas of responsibility of the irrigation
industry are related social activities, political activities and natural activities.
