•  510 artefact destructions; 203 thefts; 2,360 illegal excavations
• No Archaeology Dept response for RTI stats on status of legal cases
• No details provided on prosecutions, recoveries, or preventive action

A staggering 510 cases of archaeological artefacts being destroyed, 203 thefts of artefacts, and 2,360 illegal excavations carried out in search of antiquities were reported across Sri Lanka between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2025, according to information released by the Archaeology Department in response to a Right to Information (RTI) request filed by The Daily Morning.

The figures, which highlight the continuing threats faced by the country's archaeological heritage, reveal that illegal excavations remain the most prevalent offence, while incidents involving the destruction and theft of artefacts have also persisted over the years.

The response received by The Daily Morning revealed that 20 incidents of artefacts being destroyed, 27 thefts of artefacts, and 109 illegal excavations were reported in 2015. In 2016, the Department recorded 17 incidents of destruction, 10 thefts, and 173 illegal excavations. The figures increased in 2017, with 36 incidents of destruction, 12 thefts, and 219 illegal excavations reported, while 2018 saw 26 incidents of destruction, 15 thefts, and 176 illegal excavations. In 2019, there were 22 incidents of destruction, seven thefts, and 229 illegal excavations. During 2020, there were 15 incidents of destruction, six thefts, and 181 illegal excavations.

No incidents of artefact theft were reported in 2021. However, the Department recorded 15 incidents of destruction and 199 illegal excavations during the year. The number of reported incidents rose sharply in the years that followed. In 2022, the Department recorded 68 incidents of destruction, 29 thefts, and 161 illegal excavations. The highest number of incidents during the 11-year period was reported in 2023, when 121 incidents of artefacts being destroyed, 46 thefts, and 379 illegal excavations were recorded. In 2024, there were 109 incidents of destruction, 44 thefts, and 316 illegal excavations, while in 2025, the figures stood at 61 incidents of destruction, seven thefts, and 218 illegal excavations.

In addition to incidents of destruction, theft, and illegal excavations, the Department also recorded 120 other archaeology-related offences between 2015 and 2025, with two cases in 2015, three in 2016, 23 in 2017, 26 in 2018, 14 in 2019, three in 2020, 15 in 2021, seven in 2022, four in 2023, two in 2024, and 21 in 2025.

Although the Department released statistics on incidents of destruction, theft, and illegal excavations, it did not respond to several other questions raised by The Daily Morning in its RTI request. The newspaper had sought details on how many legal cases had been filed by the Department in relation to incidents involving the destruction of archaeological sites and the theft of artifacts between 2015 and 2025, how many of those cases have been concluded to date, how many suspects have been arrested in connection with such incidents, how many of the reported stolen artifacts have since been recovered, how many remain unrecovered, and what measures that the Department has taken to prevent the destruction and theft of archaeological sites and artifacts. However, the Department failed to provide responses to those queries in its RTI reply.

The disclosure comes as the Government, on Tuesday (7), launched the national programme to conserve 1,000 archaeological sites across Sri Lanka, coinciding with the commencement of the Archaeology Week. As the first phase of the programme, conservation work will begin at 100 identified archaeological sites, during the Week.