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The  Lion  Staircase

       One of Sigiriya’s most dramatic features is the great Lion Staircase, now preserved only in two colossal paws and a mass of brick masonry surrounding the ancient limestone steps.

   The lion, so impressive even in its ruined state today, must have afforded a vision of grandeur and majesty when it was intact. Remarkably

 , we have poems recording the impact of the Lion on ancient visitors to the site.

          The monstrous Simha – suggestive of the legendary founder of the Sinhalese race – towering majestically against the granite cliff, bright-coloured, and gazing northwards over a vista that stretches almost hill-less to the horizon, must have presented an awe-inspiring sight for miles around. ( H.C.P. Bell 1904:9 )

           We know from the chronicle account of Kasyapa’s construction of Sigiriya that the Lion staircase House was one of the principle features of his plan of the Sigiriya complex. The Lion was in effect the ultimate and solitary gatehouse to the palace on the summit.

           At the same time it made a major symbolic statement, operating on several levels of meaning , enhancing the power and majesty of royal authority and invoking ritual notions of dynastic origins, the Lion being the mythical ancestor and the royal symbol of the Sri Lankan kings.

          The actual structure of the Lion staircase House itself can be at least partially reconstructed from the evidence still remaining at the site. The paws, the surving masses of brick masonry and the original limestone risers give us a clear idea of the form, scale and materials used in the construction of the Lion: basically a brick masonry structure with its surface moulded fairly realistically in a thick coating of lime plaster. The Lion seems to have been in a crouching position, represented by its paws, head and shoulders projecting from the rock. The exact width and height of the Lion is indicated by cuts and grooves in the rock-face. It is likely that timber posts, beams and lintels were used inside the brick masonry to create the passages for the stairs, the decay of this timber framework leading ultimately to the collapse of a substantial part of the entire structure.

           The Lion staircase House stood to a height of fourteen metres. Above this the gently-sloping rock face was utilized once again to erect a gently ascending gallery and staircase, presumably of brick masonry with stone risers.

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