Lovamahapaya was an ancient building located between Ruvanveliseya and Sri Mahabodiya in the ancient city of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, 200 km from the capital, Colombo. It was built by King DevanampiyaThissa, the first Buddhist king of the country, in the 3rd century BCE and was later redesigned by King Dutthagamani, in the 2nd century BCE, into a massive refractory the remains of which you can see today.

According to early historical sources, Lovamahapaya was a massive nine storied building with each side 400 feet long. The building was supported by 40 rows of stone pillars each containing 40 pillars, totaling 1600 pillars in all. It’s walls were decorated with corals and precious stones and its roof was covered with copper-bronze plates, because of which it’s also know as the Brazen Palace or Lohaprasadaya. Each level of the building was rumored to have 1,000 rooms. These early descriptions may be exaggerated, but Lovamahapaya would have been one of the most prominent buildings at the time it was constructed.

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