Shiva Devales

All of these images reflect Hindu influence that was strong at Polonnaruwa both before and after it was a Sinhalese Buddhist capital. The first two, with the still-intact rounded stone roof, are of the oldest building still standing – a Shiva Devale (I think Devale must mean some kind of temple) dating from the pre-Sinhalese Chola era. The third and fourth are another Shiva Devale dating from the 13th Century, when Hindu influence crept back in after what Lonely Planet calls “Polonnaruwa’s Sinhalese florescence.”