Reptiles in rock and time: Unveiling Sri Lanka’s ancient herpetological art

Hidden beneath the ancient canopy of Sri Lanka’s dry forests and shaded cliff faces lies a gallery like no other — a prehistoric museum where stone meets story.

- By IrHaM Nizam

Recently made drawings, engravings, and letters at Dorawakakanda cave by visitors (Photo: N. D. Rathnayake).

(N. D. Rathnayake)

Painted and engraved thousands of years ago, these rock surfaces reveal how early islanders saw their world: not as conquerors, but as companions to the wild.

Among the elephants, deer, and human forms that adorn these caves, reptiles take centre stage — monitor lizards, crocodiles, tortoises, pythons, and geckos, all rendered with striking realism and reverence.

“Each stroke, each figure, is a message from the island’s earliest naturalists,” says Dr. Nimal Rathnayake, archaeologist and herpetologist, who has explored dozens of rock shelters across the island. “They reveal not only how our ancestors lived, but how deeply they observed and understood reptiles — the creatures that shared their landscapes.”

The world’s oldest known cave paintings — abstract symbols in Spain’s Cave of Maltravieso — date back some 64,000 years, likely drawn by Neanderthals. In Indonesia, a wild pig painted 45,500 years ago represents the earliest figurative art.

In Sri Lanka, cave paintings at Fa-Hien Lena in the Western Province, dated to over 11,000 years old, mark South Asia’s oldest known artistic expressions. These vivid works portray human and animal figures with a symbolic richness that still defies complete interpretation.

“Every pigment, every chipped line represents a memory,” says Dr. Rathnayake. “These caves are living archives — where biodiversity and belief converge.”

Sri Lanka’s record of prehistoric rock art parallels its modern status as a biodiversity hotspot. With 246 known reptile species — including 164 endemic to the island — it is no surprise that early inhabitants immortalised them on stone.