The mid-1800s marked the beginnings of Maldivian archaeology. These early investigations were consistent with the style of archaeology present throughout the Indian Ocean, which involved episodes of antiquarianism and were micro-regional in approach (Seland 2014). The Maldivian research emphasized the recovery and identification of potential Buddhist monuments and other associated ‘markers’ of the early period. In 1836, the Indian Navy’s Lieutenants Young and Christopher presented a case for a prior Buddhist period. This involved several observations including: a Sri Lankan Buddhist priest’s acknowledgement of extant religious monuments in the Maldives and also the presence of a large Bodhi tree (Ficus religiosa) in Male’ (Bell 1940:140). Bodhi trees were often considered sacred and found in close proximity to Buddhist monasteries. In the mid-1800s, structures which had been intentionally covered at the arrival of Islam were excavated in order to further substantiate these
-CHAPTER FOUR: THE RESEARCH CONTEXT-
on Landhoo Island in Southern Miladhunmadulhu Atoll (Noonu Atoll) and involved the excavation of an earth-covered havitha (the term for the remains of a stupa in the Southern Maldives) known as ‘Maabadhige Haiy Haitha’ (or the alternative name ‘Hatka’). It was subsequently visited by John Stanley Gardiner, a Professor of Zoology at Cambridge, in 1900 during a much larger survey and by Ceylon Civil Service commissioner Harry Charles Purvis Bell (HCP Bell) later in 1922 (Waheed 2003:43). The artefacts recovered from the havitha included an unknown number of copper and/or gold discs, which were retrieved from the coral-stone reliquary (a container housing Buddhist relics found within a stupa); however, the coins were destroyed immediately post-excavation (Forbes 1987:282).
Research gained momentum in the latter half of the 1800s with the further discovery of Buddhist monuments and an interest in toponymic research into place names associated with Buddhist traditions. The major works included that of antiquarian C.W Rosset in 1886 (Rosset 1886), Stanley Gardiner in 1900 (Gardiner 1904) and HCP Bell in 1879, 1920 and 1922 (Bell 1940). It was Gardiner’s more extensive research which documented several covered Buddhist monuments in the southern atolls and several structures reminiscent of stupas at the significant Buddhist site of Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka, which motivated a more substantial phase of research in the 1920s. However, despite Gardiner’s cynicism over the merits of his own research, it was well received by others, with Bell (1940:110) commenting that Gardiner’s contribution ‘[built] better than he knew’.
Bell’s archaeological research in the Maldives was completed in 1879, 1920 and 1922 and it aimed to consolidate and confirm previous observations. Bell visited the island chain twice when he produced two seminal volumes on the archipelago: The Maldive Islands: An Account of the Physical Features, History, Inhabitants, Productions and Trade (1940) and The Maldive Islands: Monograph on the History, Archaeology, and Epigraphy (1940). These presented Bell’s investigations, including surveys of Buddhist sites in the south, which involved his survey of a small vihara (a Buddhist monastery site) on Gan Island in the southernmost atoll, Addu (Seenu) Atoll and a ruined stupa on Fuvahmulah in Gnaviyani Atoll. Furthermore, he investigated a stupa locally known as ‘Budu-ge’ on Mundoo Island in Haddhunmathi Atoll, as well as a larger Buddhist monastery complex on Gan Island, which had been previously
-CHAPTER FOUR: THE RESEARCH CONTEXT-
identified by Stanley Gardiner in 1900 (Forbes 1987:283). The Dhambidu Lōamafānu, Isdu Lōamafānu and Gamu Lōamafānu, an early Maldivian set of inscriptions composed at the transition to Islam in the twelfth century, described the destruction of the Gan temple compound. They document the beheading of Buddhist monks at the site, the destruction of coral-stone statues and the burning of scriptures of pandanus leaves (Romero-Frías 1999:27). The excavation on Gan in Haddhunmathi supported the documentary account of the site being a major centre of Buddhism. Bell (1940) also noted parallels between the Gan structures and other Buddhist monument types in Sri Lanka (Bell 1940).
Four archaeological investigations were undertaken during the 1940–1950s. These were all conducted by local Maldivians, the first by Adam Nasir Maniku and the final three by Muhammad Ismail Didi and all involved the excavation of havitha and gafuuni (northern term for the remains of a stupa)structures. The first excavation was undertaken in 1948 on Fuvahmulah Island (Fuvahmulah Atoll) and two in 1958 on Toddhoo and Kinbidu Islands. The final investigation was undertaken in Ariadhoo Island in 1959 (Forbes 1987). Varied types of material culture resulted from the excavations including coral-stone reliquary caskets and Buddha statues. The relics found within the Toddhoo stupa included a Roman denarius of a Republican date c. 90 BCE, which was photographed before being misappropriated in Male’ (Forbes 1984: 53). The final excavation in Ariadhoo recovered an alleged coral Hindu siva linga—these are generally associated with siva worship; although the statue itself was not retained, and was likely a votive stupa (Gippert 2004; Romero-Frías pers. comm. September 2015).
While no archaeological research took place in the 1960s, a significant find came to light during this period. This was the accidental discovery of four carved coral heads depicting aggressive fanged faces in Male’, which were unearthed during construction in 1962. Two of these were deposited in the National Museum and survived there until their destruction by extremists in 2012 (Forbes 1987:286; Bajaj 2012). Two of the coral heads were also reported to be four-sided siva linga and there was also some indication that symbols associated with Siva are depicted on one of the coral stones (Forbes 1987:286). This further contributed to the argument of pre-Islamic Hindu
-CHAPTER FOUR: THE RESEARCH CONTEXT-
influences present in the archipelago. However, these likely represent Buddhist guardian figures (Romero-Frías 1999; Gippert 2014).
The 1970s witnessed a re-instigation of research, although it was restricted mostly to surveys by Nils Finn Munch-Petersen and Jon Carswell. Munch-Petersen, a Danish social scientist and botanist, carried out research in the southern atolls of the Maldives in 1974 and 1977–1981. It was from these investigations that he proposed a ‘rather sketchy’ picture of the pre-Islamic period, which resulted in the development of a hypothesis that the early Buddhist period involved taro cultivation (Munch-Petersen 1982). Other research in the 1970s was conducted by archaeologist Jon Carswell, who was then attached to the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. He conducted the first research on traded materials and investigated the presence of Chinese and Islamic ceramics in the Maldives and contextualized their presence into a broader Indian Ocean context. During these surveys he found an abundance of Chinese sherds in Male’ during both surveys and test excavations, although the exact amount remains unpublished. These were collected and are now held at the Ashmolean in Oxford (Carswell 1976:144).
The 1980–1990s marked a more scientific approach. A series of excavations were conducted jointly by the Kon-Tiki museum, the University of Oslo and the Maldivian Government from 1981–1984 (Skjølsvold 1991:1). The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Technical Assistance Programme (SAARC) conducted another in 1986–1987, which was followed in the consecutive decade with the first major excavation by Egil Mikkelsen of the Museum of Culture-History at the University of Oslo from 1996–1998 (Mikkelsen 2000). All three investigations documented early period Buddhist sites throughout the archipelago and focused not just on the monuments and reliquaries but also faunal remains, burials, ceramics and other associated material culture. The series of investigations headed by the Kon-Tiki museum were the first to return any radiocarbon dates from any sites in the Maldives, with three dates obtained from the Nilandhoo Foamathi (Nilandhoo Island in Faafu Atoll) and Gamu Havitha (Gan Island in Huvadhu Atoll) sites. Nilandhoo Foamathi had an early date of 660–740 CE and the samples from Gamu Havitha were rejected owing to issues related to insubstantial bone collagen. Mikkelsen built on this foundational chronology by obtaining 20 dates from the Kuruhinna Tharaagadu site
-CHAPTER FOUR: THE RESEARCH CONTEXT-
(Kaashidhoo Island in Malé/Kaafu Atoll), which ranged between 40 BCE–115 CE (T- 13183) and 1260–1340 CE (T-13667). During this period, UNESCO had also planned to excavate covered Buddhist structures in 1983–1984; however, research was redirected to focus on the conservation of mosques, which was deemed politically appropriate at the time (Silva 1985).
As the above historical outline highlights the initial period of inquiry was marked by episodes of theft, vandalism and antiquarianism, with the major modus operandi being to compile economically valuable items of material culture, often recovered from coral-stone reliquaries contained within havitha or gafuuni and other items of value or interest, such as carved coral-stone slabs and statues. A consequence of the uncontrolled nature of the early excavations is the lack of contextual information concerning associated material culture. Additionally, these problems are further exaggerated by incomplete or missing excavation records from early excavations. Whilst antiquarian approaches have since been replaced by archaeological investigations, theft and vandalism are still problematic today, as exemplified by the complete destruction of Buddhist statues at the National Museum in Male’ in 2012 (Bajaj 2012). The investigations of the 1970–1990s were essential in establishing baseline chronologies and a culture-history of the archipelago, building on the seminal work of HCP Bell in 1922. These later investigations have also refocused archaeological research in a direction of more controlled methods of excavations and survey and supported the recovery and documentation of non-valuable items such as ceramics, beads, faunal remains and burials.