CONFERENCE CHAIR & COMMITTEE

Prof. Anura Manatunga

Senior Professor in Archaeology
Department of Archaeology
Director of the Centre for Heritage Studies
University of Kelaniya
Sri Lanka.

Speech Title: ” Some aspects on vandalizing and trading of antiquities “

Prof. Anura Manatunga is a Senior Professor in Archaeology at the Department of Archaeology and the Director of the Centre for Heritage Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. He has been working at the teaching faculty of the University of Kelaniya since 1986 and was the Head of the Department of Archaeology of the University during 1996-2001. He was the consultant and Director of the Polonnaruva World Heritage site project under the Central Cultural Fund of Sri Lanka from 1999-2014. Prof. Manatunga is a Founder member and Fellow of the Sri Lanka Council of Archaeologists. He was an Honorary Librarian of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka, Senate Member of the Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka and member of the Board of Governors of the Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology of the University of Kelaniya. He is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Department of Archaeology, Government of Sri Lanka and working as a consultant or a resource person in various institutions related to Heritage in Asia. Professor Manatunga is the Founder and General Secretary of the International Association for Asian Heritage [IAAH] which is one of the promising academic associations in the field of Heritage studies in the region.

Prof. Dilip K Chakrabarti

 Emeritus professor of South Asian Archaeology,

Cambridge University
United Kingdom

Emeritus professor of South Asian Archaeology, Cambridge University, Dilip K Chakrabarti (1941) held tenured appointments in the universities of Calcutta ( 1965-77), Delhi ( 1977-1990), Visvabharati(1980-81) and Cambridge( 1990-2008). He held visiting professorship in Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh (1988-90) and scholarships, grants and fellowships  in  Calcutta University, Churchill  College, Wolfson College and Clare Hall in Cambridge, Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities of Edinburgh University, British Institute of Persian Studies, Tehran,  JDR 3^rd Fund New York, Allahabad University, Maison de l’homme, Paris , and Asia Centre , University of New England, Australia. In Cambridge University he is the first person to be promoted to professorship in the field of ancient Indian history and archaeology.

His published research has covered the following  themes : early historic urban growth in India ;  history of Indian archaeology (till 1947 and from 1947 to the present);  the early Indian  use of iron and copper and its alloys ;  external trade of the Indus civilization ; antiquities of Kangra ;  archaeology of eastern India : Chhotanagpur plateau and West Bengal ; ancient Bangladesh ; archaeological geography of the lower and upper Ganga plain ; the problem of the Sarasvati river and archaeological geography of Haryana and Panjab ; socio-politics of the ancient Indian past ;  the routes which linked the Ganga plain with the Deccan ; the ancient routes of the Deccan and the south; geopolitics of ancient India  ; and ancient Indian borderlands and boundaries from Baluchistan to Arakan Yoma. His current research is on the ancient history of Rajasthan – research developments, epigraphical evidence on the foci of political power , and issues. He has authored (co-authored in two cases) 29 books ( 1 in press) and edited/coedited 13 more ( 3 in press). In addition, he has published  about 200 articles and reviews.

He is the editor-in-chief (since 2015) of the Indian Historical Review published by the Indian Council of Historical Research and on the editorial board of  the journal National Security published by the Vivekananda International Foundation, Delhi. He is also the main editor of the 11-volume series on the history of ancient India which is sponsored by the Vivekananda International Foundation and Aryan Books International.

Prof. Prashantha Bandula Mandawala

Director General of Archaeology,
Department of Archaeology,
Sri Lanka

Professor in Archaeology,
University of Sri Jayewardenepura,
Sri Lanka

Graduated as an Architect from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka has competed the Post Graduate Degree also from the same University and became a Chartered Architect. Completed the post graduate degree in Archaeological Heritage Management in the University of York, UK and undergone professional training in the Fields of Stone Conservation in Venice – Italy, Wood Conservation in Norway, Architectural Conservation in ICCROM- Rome, Tourism Development in Singapore and Post Graduate Diploma in Heritage Management in IHS, Netherlands.

Has held the post of President, ICOMOS Sri Lanka, President of Sri Lanka Council of Archaeologists and Vice President of the Organization for Professional Associations of Sri Lanka.

Began the carrier as a Heritage Manger in 1981 by joining the UNESCO-Sri Lanka Cultural Triangle programme managed by the Central Cultural Fund as an Architect and worked 21 years as a Resident Architect, Project Manager, Assistant Director (Administration & Development), Deputy Director (Development) and Director Development. Served as the Director Conservation of the Projects of the Central Cultural Fund namely – Alahana Parivena, Maha Vihara and Jetavana Vihara.

Joined the University of Sri Jayewardenepura as a Senior Lecturer in 2002 and currently holds post of Professor in Archaeology.

Held the posts of Head of the Department of History and Archaeology, Head of the Department of Engineering Technology and the Dean of the Faculty of Technology, Director of the Operational Technical Secretariat of the World Bank Project of Higher Education for Twenty First Century, Coordinator of the Establishment of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Director of the 2011 US Ambassadors Grant Project of Galle and as the Conservation Consultant Architect of the Conservation of Ancient Dutch Fort of Jaffna.

Currently hold the posts of Director General of Archaeology and Director of the 2013 and 2015 US Ambassadors Grant Project of Rajagala and Conservation Director of Rajagala Project.

Has attended several International Conferences, Seminars and Workshops as a keynote speaker, resource person and as a participant and has submitted several papers. Published several articles in international and national books and journals and also published several publications on conservation and archeology.

Amalka Wijesuriya

University of Ruhuna
Sri Lanka

Mr. Amalka Wijesuriya, currently a Lecturer (Probationary) of Department of History and Archaeology, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka is a Professional Archaeologist. He served to the Department of Archaeology, Sri Lanka as an Archaeological Research Officer.  Amalka Wijesuriya received his BA in Archaeology from the University of Kelaniya, PG Diploma in Archaeology from Post graduate Institute of Archaeology, University of Kelaniya and he obtained his Master’s Degree in Archaeology from Deccan College, Post-graduate and Research Institute, Pune, India. Amalka Wijesuriya holds ‘Fulbright Professional Scholar Award’ to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA.

Mr. Wijesuriya is a professional field archaeologist and a professional underwater archaeologist as well with diving experience currently engaging with number of leading ongoing underwater archaeology projects in the country including archaeological impact assessments. He is also specialized in areas of archaeological techniques and methods, ancient beads analysis, maritime trade, ancient irrigation and water management, Proto Historic Archaeology and both tangible and Intangible heritage. In addition to his field experiences he has a good teaching experience as a visiting lecturer at the University of Kelaniya, University of Sri Jayawardanepura and Buddhist & Pali University of Sri Lanka. Mr. Wijesuriya has presented his research in a large number of national and international conferences in Sri Lanka, USA, China and India.

He is a founder member of the International Association for Asian Heritage (IAAH) which is one of the promising academic bodies in international scale and a member of many other National and International academic bodies. He was the representative of the Sri Lanka Council of Archaeologists to the Organization of Professional Association (OPA) of Sri Lanka. Amalka Wijesuriya is been actively engaging to protect traditional masks and masks dancing which is one of the main intangible heritage of Sri Lanka.