Archaeological Heritage and Traditional Decorations Depicted on Paper- Currency-Notes in Sri Lanka (From 1948 To 2018)

The currency note is a piece of paper uses for officially maintain a flow of funds according to the financial principles of a country. Every state in the world prints currency notes and they include artistic designs as symbols of richness and power of the country. This article focuses on the currency notes in Sri Lanka while assessing archaeological heritage and traditional decorations depicted on them. This paper further aims to highlight the Sri Lankan archaeological heritage and traditional decorations depicted in connection with the categories of currency notes established by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, and to describe reasons for depicting them on currency notes. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka issued eleven series of currency notes as of 2018 under different themes to illustrate Sri Lankan archaeological heritage. This study is based on a field survey that facilitated to obtain data and information. The currency notes available at the museum in the Central Bank of Sri Lanka were inspected, and each kind of currency notes printed from 1948 to the end of 2018 were studied. Published literature were critically reviewed. In addition, discussions with experts from the Central Bank and Bank Museum in Sri Lanka were undertaken. The use of features related to archaeological heritage and the use of traditional decorations on the notes can be considered as a prominent theme of Sri Lankan papercurrency-notes. Main reasons behind this choice coincide with the idea of representing the native heritage-identity, but not just as a medium of value exchange.


INTRODUCTION
Growing social complexity with the sedentism, trade, population growth and urbanism, raised the need for an exchange system. Transactions within an established economic system, that started with the barter system later developed the unit of value called money. Money is an exchange unit used by every society for official communication and publicity, for the worth of goods or services provided. Currency, the unit of money, are circulated in the world in exchange or other modes, is twofold: coins and paper notes. From the earliest times, the unit of value called money became an integral part of society.
According to the Oxford Dictionary (1989, p. 165), a paper currency is a negotiable document used instead of money escape banknotes, passing unquestioned formed hand to hand, more strictly, a paper currency, which by the law of the country represents money and is a legal tender. The free dictionary (Internet) has interpreted a paper currency issued by a government or central bank consisting of the printed paper that can circulate as a substitute for specie. The Lexico Oxford English and Spanish Dictionary explain the paper currency is money in the form of banknotes (Internet). Sri Sumangala Dictionary (Sabdakosaya, A Sinhalese-Sinhalese Dictionary, 1963, p. 782) depicts the currency note as a piece of paper used for money. Currency notes are paper money used officially to maintain the flow of funds according to the financial principles of a country and it circulates for dealings of goods and services.
In contrast to coins made of metal, there is no inherent value of paper notes. But a larger amount of money can be represented by a piece of paper. Manufacturing paper was first introduced during the period of the genealogy of the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) (Somadeva, 2016, p. 177). Traders used bills for dealings of money during the first half of the 8 th century in China (Hewiitt, 1998, p. 91) and during the period between 10 A.D. and 13 A.D. centuries, a paper money note was issued under the dynasty of Song (Somadeva, 2016, p. 178). Along with the confirmation of the use of paper money in China and the beginning of issuing currency notes by Mongolia in 1260 A.D., systems of currency notes began to spread throughout the world (Hewiitt, 1998, p. 91). China designed paper money first and used it efficiently (Hewiitt, 1998, p. 92). Later, by the middle of the twentieth century, printing currency notes became the norm around the world and they included artistic designs as symbols of elite and power, and representing the values of the issuing authority.
Until 1951, British currency notes were used in Sri Lanka. Coins issued by them were circulated until 1963. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka began to issue their currency notes in Sri Lanka from 1951 and these currency notes were used up to 2018 under notes series 11. When issuing currency notes as series, they have used different themes for each note series. According to those themes, illustrations were imbibed on the Obverse (front) and Reverse (back) of the currency notes. Among them, some illustrations bearing Sri Lankan archaeological heritage were given considerable attention.
Heritage can be divided into two categories: natural heritage, and cultural heritage. Tradition, language, architectural constructions can be identified as a part of heritage. The archaeological heritage of the island, that speaks of the past prosperous economic endeavors, is considered with wonder and as a source of national pride of the inhabitants of the country. The inclusion of the aforesaid heritage in currency notes thus can be deemed as an important aspect of the paper currency.
It is common for the majority of the people of a country not to recognize the cultural heritage attached and represented by the currency notes in their country. People would often recognize the colour and the denoted worth at a glance but hardly would they stop and examine the illustrations. However, it is important to identify the represented identity of archaeological heritage from paper money, in addition to the value in it.
Mainly this study focuses on Sri Lankan cultural and archaeological heritage depicted in currency notes and to uncover the reasons for depicting them on currency notes.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Only a limited number of research are available on paper currency notes of Sri Lanka. However, the pictures depicted on paper currency in Sri Lanka, apart from a cursory recognition, has not been paid much attention to.
In the study of paper money and coins, one of the clear qualities recognized is that they are powerful and unsuspected vehicles for propaganda and advertisement for the authority, and that, it is one of the easiest ways to send such messages to the masses (Hewitt, 1998). The subtleness of sending powerful messages to the people via such an inconspicuous but a glaring way is especially recognized as a part of the package of the use of paper money (Hewitt, 1998). Then, the use of a particular type of pictures specifically and repeatedly, is something noteworthy, in the sense that the paper money is used to convey a message.
Another of the uses of paper money which is connected to being a subtle and a powerful messenger is that it is a favourite medium to project messages of national identity (Hewitt, 1998;Hewitt & Unwin, 2001). Galloy (2007) points out how the picture depictions in Mexican and Central American states, can be understood as a message of nationalism, national identity and constructing that identity. It stands to mean that, not only the paper money presents what is accepted as an identity, but it can slowly, intricately, create and construct an identity a state wants to project. The colonial pasts, disentangling with colonial ties, class divisions and ethnic divisions are aspects that pictures of paper money have incorporated to send continuous and subtle messages to the masses (Galloy, 2007, P. 30-32). Lauer (2008) notes that the nation-state and the money are intricately connected to nation-building. The United States paper money has a role as a medium of mass communication. In devising the strategies to make the obvious worthiness of paper money in comparison to the metal coins, the legitimization of the paper money is attained through rationalization and mystification. The first is achieved by incorporating the documentary conventions associated with the formal politico-legal authority of the state, and the second through the use of iconography that is connected to the origins, history and images of the respected forefathers of the nation and these two types of depictions in paper money together have achieved the national identity (Lauer, 2008: 111). Gilbert and Helliener (1999) tracing the historical emergence of national currencies conclude how enmeshed the national state, its goals and national currencies are.
Studies of the connection between the state and the currency and the messages the paper money can carry show its affinity to propose and consolidate the national identity the state wishes. The historical evolutions and the development and shifts of the nation-states over the world have experienced this connection. In Sri Lanka, the paper money came to exist with the British Administration. The symbols in the paper money were first introduced by them. Studies show that the depictions of natural beauty and promise of development and past glories did mark a shift very early in the paper money of Ceylon, starting well before the Independence in 1948. The shift from using only letters and numbers and the pictures of foreign places (Hewitt, 1998: 262) to the pictures of the heritage of the past marked the shift in the nation-state and the changing society. The use of heritage symbols from this first moment then stayed in Sri Lankan paper notes. Apart from a few variations, the archaeological heritage and traditional decorations have continued to be presented in paper notes of the island. However, this phenomenon has not been addressed to understand the reasons behind this use of archaeological heritage specifically. Silva (2000) in describing the paper notes and pictures used in Sri Lanka, remarks that the coins and currency reflect the people and the independence of the country, but reasons behind the noted inclination to use the items are not made clear in his study. One of the themes of the note series is recognized as 'signify the ancient heritage of Sri Lanka' (Central bank, 2013: 121), but the repeated and specific use of archaeological heritage and traditional decorations in note series has not been studied. Hewitt (1998) in speaking of the pictures in paper money in general, states that it is about identity and implies that as a colony seeking independence, the start of Sri Lankan natural and archaeological heritage taking place in the paper notes was of such change and such seeking. However, the continuous use of the archaeological heritage and traditional decorations even long after the independence is not given sufficient attention.
It leads to some questions such as 'has the country decided to show the archaeological heritage and traditional decorations', and 'has this been done unconsciously or deliberately'. And if it is a message to the masses on identity, why archaeological heritage and traditional decorations were chosen specifically? Peskov (2014), in his analysis of paper currency use of World Heritage Sites, draws attention to the importance of archaeological heritage, specifically WHO sites, to a state. The objectives of tourist attraction, increasing the awareness of these sites among the people, and the consideration of these places as symbols of national identity are the reasons for depicting these sites in banknotes. Yet, it still leads to the question of why they depict other archaeological heritage and traditional decorations in the paper notes.
The use of pictures of archaeological heritage and traditional decorations in paper currency has become the dominant feature of the Note series of Sri Lanka. It seems to be a pattern rather than a coincidence. It thus gives rise to some question such as 'why archaeological heritage and traditional decorations are depicted rather than prominent political figures of past or more on recent development projects?', and secondly, why has it become a pattern?

AIMS AND METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY
This study aims to assess the Sri Lankan archaeological heritage and traditional decorations depicted on the categories of currency notes issued after the establishment of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and to uncover the reasons to depict them on currency notes. The study is based on a field survey. The currency notes available at the museum in the Central Bank of Sri Lanka were inspected and each kind of currency notes printed from 1948 to the end of 2018 was included in this. The journal articles, the literature published by the Central Bank were referred to. The conclusion was reached by analyzing data identified through the above methods.

History of the Use of Currency Notes in Sri Lanka
Currency notes were printed and circulated during the period when Sri Lanka was under colonial rule, first, during the reign of the Dutch. Until the last half of the reign of the Dutch, they made use of coins. But due to the increase of defence expenses of the Dutch by this time, the treasury was empty and currency notes were issued. Thus, the first currency note of Sri Lanka was issued by the Dutch governor Vander Graaf in 1785 named 'Rix Dollar' note with a nominal value (Hewitt, 1998, p. 255). Currency notes with values of 50, 100, 500 and 1000 Rix Dollar for the first series of Sri Lanka were issued and also currency notes with values of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 Rix Dollar were issued for various requirements (Silva, 2000, p. 93). A small diction in Dutch, Sinhala, and Tamil languages were inserted on these currency notes.
At the beginning of the British (1796 to 1844) rule, money was issued by the treasury (Satahana, 2016, p. 08). But the authority of issuing money was assigned to private banks from 1845 -1884 (Satahana, 2016, p. 08). The independent banking system was implemented in many countries by that time. In the years to come, due to its infirmity, a monopoly of issuing money was given to the Bank of England by the Bank Act in 1844. But the authority of issuing money of colonies was entrusted only to authorize private banks. That was under the Bank Authorizing Ordinance in 1844. Among the authorized banks, the Oriental Bank possessed the authority of issuing money first in Sri Lanka. Due to weaknesses in bank administration as well as drop-in revenue, this bank collapsed. Accordingly, to avoid the drop of economy, the Board of Commissioners of Currency was established under the Paper Currency Ordinance No.32 of 1884 (Silva, 2000, p. 125). Decisions regarding issuing money in this system were taken by the treasurer, colonial secretary, auditor general. Under this system currency notes in the denomination of 1, 2, 5, 10, 50,100, 500, 1000 and 10,000 rupees were issued and the currency notes of 10,000 rupees were used only for dealings done among banks (Ibid). The main reason why currency notes emerged in Sri Lanka was due to the dearth of issuing coins.
The Central Bank which is the central institute by which currency policies in Sri Lanka are put into practice was established based on the Monetary Law Act No. 58 of 1949 (Silva, 2000, p. 137). The Central Bank started its work on 28 th August 1950 and the Board of Commissioners of Currency, which existed till then was abolished (Ibid). Under section 49 of the Currency Law Act, the authority of issuing money in Sri Lanka has been entrusted to the Central Bank. Since then Lanka Rupee became the standard currency unit. But the Sri Lankan Rupee and cent system started in 1872.

Themes of the Series of Currency Notes in Sri Lanka
Different themes were employed for each note series and different illustrations were used. and Yapahuwa are depicted on currency notes, continuously.

Currency Notes Depicting Archaeological Heritage and Traditional Decorations in Sri Lanka
Of the above series of printed currency notes, the archaeological heritage of Sri Lanka and traditional decorations depicted on the obverse and reverse of series of currency notes and the categories of currency notes can be separated as follows. In the first series of currency notes issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in 1951, even though the main theme of it was given to Britain, it shows the attempt made to mix the indigenous taste. On the front of the 10 Rupee currency note of the first series of currency notes, depicts the traditional carving design of swan splice small. The carvings of the staircase inscribed in a portico, moonstone and guard stone are depicted on one rupee currency notes and 10 rupee currency note illustrates a sculpture of a guard stone.
Even though all the currency notes printed in the second and third series depict archaeological heritage, traditional decorations such as the line of swans and swan splice are illustrated only on 10 rupees and 100 rupee currency notes. Archaeological heritage is depicted only on currency notes in denomination of 2, 5, 10, and 100 in the 4 th series and a picture of a dragon is illustrated on 100 rupee currency notes. Illustrations of archaeological places, carvings and paintings emerge from in the 5 th series issued, starting from a theme of the statue of the King Parakramabahu the Great. There, the row of swans is depicted on the 100 Rupee currency note. But Vatadage in Polonnaruwa and the picture of a dragon are illustrated only on 100 Rupee currency note in the 6 th series. The Biodiversity of Sri Lanka is the whole subject matter for the 7 th series. Historical and archaeological places in the subject matter for the 8 th series. The developmental projects of that period are illustrated only on 1000 rupees which was a newly introduced currency note under this series illustrating archaeological heritage and the traditional decorations of pineapple flower are illustrated on that currency note.
As only 500 Rupee and 1000 Rupee notes were issued under 9 th series, of them, the main painting on the 500 Rupee currency note was Abhayagiri Stupa which was an archaeological place. Pineapple flower is depicted on 1000 Rupee currency notes. Currency notes of 10 th series have several subject matters dedicated to ancient heritage and traditional decorations. How archaeological heritage is well painted on currency notes of denomination of 10, 50, 100, 1000 and 2000 can be identified. Swan splice and stylized floral motif design have been painted only on 20 rupees and 1000 rupee currency notes. The 11 th series having the subject matter of prosperity and development was issued in 2011. Obverse and reverse of those currency notes were painted to suit that theme and had given a special place for the archaeological heritage and traditional decorations in Sri Lanka. Three commemorative currency notes in denomination of 200, 500 and 1000 were printed in 1998, 2009 and 2013 with paintings depicting the archaeological heritage and traditional decorations.
In this study, main attention was paid to historical and archaeological sites and traditional decorations considered as ancient heritages in each series. How archaeological heritage and traditional decorations are used on the obverse and reverse of currency notes from 10 Rupees to 2000 Rupees in different series issued was focused.

Archaeological Heritage and Traditional Decorations Depicted in Currency Notes
Archaeological heritage, to depict the pride of Sri Lanka has been illustrated on different series of currency notes. It can be mainly categorized under two main points as archaeological heritage and traditional decorations. It can again be categorized as depictions of the archaeological heritage of religious and secular architectural monuments, paintings, carvings, sculptures, archaeological sites, and antiquities.
Archaeological heritage and types of traditional decorations depicted on a series of currency notes can be tabled as follows.

Polonnaruwa
Vatadage is a construction depicting the highest condition of Sinhala architecture. Vatadage, at Medirigiriya Vihara built by Malayaraja during the reign of the king of Agghabodhi IV (677-683 AD) is an attractive creation of Buddhist architecture (Senevirathna, 1966, p. 46). These are some the creative and ingenious feats of engineering and arts of the Island.
Image-house is a structure built to place Buddha statues. It has been developed up to the present condition having gradually evolved from the Anuradhapura period to the Kandyan period. The largest Image-house called Lankathilaka Vihara in Polonnaruwa identified as an image house in Gedige tradition during the reign of King Parakramabahu I (1153-1186 AD) has appeared on currency notes. Even today, it is clear to see the factors that the inner walls have been painted beautifully with paintings. Lankathilaka Image-house in Kandy is another such ancient building that has been added into the currency notes to present the ancient grandeur of the island.
Kelaniya Vihara and Sri Maha Bodhi are two important places of Buddhist heritage and have been depicted on currency notes to mark the historical value.
Demodara Nine-Arc bridge, a part of secular construction under the architectural monument is depicted on currency notes which nod towards the bridge technology and transport in Sri Lanka in the colonial period.
Sri Maha Bodhi is a sacred tree that has been illustrated on currency notes. Today it is one of the most sacred places of the Buddhists in Sri Lanka and respected by Buddhists all over the world. Sigiriya built by King Kasyapa (473-491 AD) is a fortresspalace and royal park constructed in 600 feet high rising rock from the ground by making use of the rock and the surrounding environment. Use of this creation, that highlights the combined culmination of sustainable use of the physical environment, aesthetics, technology, and artistic skill, in one setting, is a clear indication to show national pride.
Well-known Apsara frescoes of Sigiriya get a dominant place in the paintings in the history of Sri Lanka. These world-famous fresco art of the divine nymphs zigzag paintings speculated as King Kasyapa's harems and female servants and also his daughters are among the illustrations depicted in the currency notes.
Carvings and sculptures have been given prominence in categories of currency notes. Building doors and creation to such can be seen on various currency notes. Features of creations such as Moonstone, Guard stone, Balustrade, and Staircase separately and together with doors, have been painted on currency notes. As these features of creations are enhancing the aesthetic state in a combination of the engineering feats of the whole building technology, the depiction of them in currency notes reflects those aesthetic and technological achievements of the past.
Creating a beautiful staircase in relation to doors of every religious place was an accepted tradition from Anuradhapura to Kandyan period. The staircase consisted of moonstone, guard stone, and balustrade. The balustrade is the part build as the hand-rail on either side of the staircase. Later, it was built with a decoration of the design of a dragon. At the edge of either side of the balustrade, there are two pictures of doorkeepers (Guard stone). Staircases of places identified as Mahasen palace and Biso palace in Anuradhapura and the staircase of Vatadage at Polonnaruwa have been decorated with dwarf carvings. Guard stone has been used to make concepts about dignity, completeness, beauty, and security of religious and secular buildings (Wikramagamage, 1998).
Evolution of the guard stone in the past is shown in the currency notes. One occasion can be shown where Pot of plenty (Punkalasa) placed at the door of festive occasions was added to the guard stone as an expansion of guard stone. Pot of plenty, placed at the door of festive occasions which symbolizes prosperity, completeness, and victory is considered up to the present days as a prosperous symbol of Sri Lankan culture. Even according to Buddhist Literature, as it is obvious that the pot of plenty placed at the door of festive occasions had possessed a permanent place traditionally, it has been illustrated on currency notes. And also dwarf (Padma Nidhi) has taken place in a pot of plenty. The dwarf, who is recognized as a wealth protector, may have been used as a guard of wealth. Among the guard stones, guard stone of Rathnaprasada at Abhayagiri Vihara at Anuradhapura is considered as the most artistic and highest in finish among the guard stones in Sri Lanka. Guard stone with the pictures of territory controller and Nagaraja guard stone can also be seen on many currency notes.
Moonstone is a creation which shows the creative skill of the stone carver of Sri Lanka and hence the best example to showcase the perfection of Sri Lankan consequently, they are depicted on currency notes. The moonstone that can be seen at Biso palace, Anuradhapura is considered as the best rendition of artistic talents and standard by artistes. An illustration of that moonstone can be seen on currency notes. Some other symbolic and noteworthy sculptures of the past have been used in the currency notes. The male statue scripted from stone connected to a small rock boulder near Parakrama_Samudra which depicts excellence in sculpture is generally considered as the statue of King Parakramabahu the Great. Why this statue has been included in currency notes can be argued connected to the interpretations of the statue itself. It is generally believed that it reflects greatness and spiritual power. This statue of King Parakramabahu is depicted in two different ways on currency notes i.e. as a whole statue and bust of the statue. In addition, the picture of the lion in the Council Chamber of the King Nissankamalla (1187-1196 AD) who reigned in the Polonnaruwa period and the lion sculpture at Yapahuwa can be seen among the currency notes.
Splice of swans, rows of swans, stylized floral motifs and double floral design as well as ancient trays, old sword handles and old ornamental containers can be seen depicted among some currency notes. Swan, considered as a mark of fortune can be seen everywhere in the art of Hindu and Sinhala decorations. Splice of swans created by two swans is also included in many carvings. The lion is a design used mostly in Sri Lankan arts. Lion is the primitive man of Sinhalese mythical stories and the symbol (Coomaraswamy, 1979, p. 86). Floral design (fabulous tree) yielding everything desired in heaven is called Kalpavrksa. In Sinhalese ornament vela or liya vela has the technical meaning of vegetable ornament, consisting not of single flowers or leaves, but of a continuous stem with rhythmically disposed of floral or foliar elements (Coomaraswamy, 1979, p. 98). 56 currency notes have been issued under 11 series issued by the Central Bank from 1950 to 2018. In addition to that, 3 commemorative currency notes have been issued in 1998, 2009 and 2013. Accordingly, the number of currency notes issued so far is 59. Of them, 46% has been dedicated to painting archaeological heritage and traditional decorations in obverse and reverse on the currency notes. Space, where the archaeological heritage and traditional decorations have occupied the minor stage, is at 20%.  There are archaeological heritage and traditional decorations marked on 12 types of currency notes from one rupee to 5000 rupees issued under 11 series of currency notes and commemorative currency notes. These are mostly seen on the type of 100 rupee currency notes. For a lesser degree, it has been most marked on currency notes in the denomination of 10, 50, 500 and 1000 Rupees. But archaeological heritage and traditional decoration and other illustrations are equally used on currency notes in the denomination of 1, 2, 20 and 200 Rupees. 2000 Rupee note is fully set apart for archaeological heritage and traditional decorations. Therefore, most of these notes have been allocated to represent the archaeological heritage as shown in the graph below.

Reasons for Using Archaeological Heritage and Traditional Decorations on Currency Notes
It is necessary to identify the values of each feature, to inquire whether there are specific reasons to depict archaeological heritage and traditional decorations bearing those values in currency notes circulated mostly in Sri Lanka. As it was pointed out, a majority of the currency notes are decorated with pictures considered as archaeological heritage and traditional decorations of the island. And, the use of pictures depicting these two forms is the most popular and regular occurring in the currency notes. There are several reasons we understood as to why these forms are presented in currency notes.
The money, as mentioned, is an easy method of projecting a message to the masses. The representations depicted in paper currency are pictures a majority of a population would see daily, even without consciously recognizing. It stands to mean that, these images become a common phenomenon that is connected to the people and their daily life. As evident in the above analysis, the number of representations of heritage and traditional items in paper money far exceeds any other sort of representations, and it is clear that, if there is any sort of intended message via paper currency, the underlying theme of that then could mostly be connected to a theme of heritage and traditional pieces.
A regular and an intended message of any national level, the state-controlled occurrence can be related to the identity a state wants to present to the international arena and to rally the people. The sense of belonging and pride produced by a cultural identity is the most prominent form of identity seeking that is common to most societies and more so for the postcolonial new States, and paper money is a huge stage to broadcast that message.
The idea of heritage is that it does not have to be an accurate portrayal of archaeological facts or historical research, it could be what the contemporary society needs to feel like their identity and consider worthy (Lowenthal 1986). Identity means, being different from some other thing, being distinct. The national currency is one great medium of mass communication for the state, had assumed this role to convey a message of national identity based on the past glories free of colonial rule and later troubling times for the island. Sri Lankan paper notes near the independence had started the trend of depicting the archaeological heritage (Hewitt 1998) and it clearly showed the change in the then political and national arena. This trend seems to have continued and after the independence, the need to assert the national identity through the past that was free of colonial rule. It is clear that the need for being distinct, and to have something inspiring and outstanding as the foundation of that distinction seems to be the use of archaeological heritage and traditional decorations which are some of the unique markers recognized in the Sri Lankan society and culture. This need for asserting identity through the heritage has continued throughout the postindependence as well. Especially, in the recent decades, the insurgency in the North, and the aftermath of the wartime, seems to have called for a renewed and invigorated need for the national identity to be represented through the archaeological heritage, as currency notes of the last three decades and after 2009, have presented several features of archaeological heritage.
The features belonging to archaeological heritage and the traditional decorations in the paper money are amongst the most popular and prominent features the present society recognizes as the heritage. The Stupas, Vatadages, Gaurdstones moonstones, image houses, Sigiri frescoes, ancient reservoirs, depicted palaces and even the image of the statue considered as King Parakramabahu's are well known as vestiges of the independent, prosperous past of the island.
Thus, these known symbols of heritage are often enough to inspire the feelings of pride and belonging and can be a ready theme for the national identity to the masses easily.
The national identity presented through the images in the notes is based on two factors; power and prosperity. The images selected for the notes are the features of archaeological heritage and the traditional decorations that are perceived to have these two qualities. As pointed out in the discussion, the architectural creations are vestiges of some of the most powerful and richest periods of the island's history. The great brick stupas and stone-built image houses and palaces and planned landscape wonders of Sigiriya are some of the most notable and naturally standing out features when thinking of the power and prosperity of the past. The traditional decorations of a pot of plenty, swans, floral design and flower designs are all considered as marks of prosperity.
The artefacts and structures, that belonged to ancient Sri Lankan culture, and their symbolism so clearly connected to the wealth, must have been put in the currency notes to illustrate the ancient culture and the prevailing beliefs of symbols of wealth.
While the main reason for depicting the archaeological heritage and the traditional decorations is national identity, there are other expected and inadvertent outcomes of it. The tourism industry is one of the main income sources of the island and these presentations draw the eye of any traveller to these sites. The other outcome is the protection and awareness of heritage sites. Even apart from the idea of national identity, the pictures nudge the populace, especially, the young, to be conscious of the archaeological heritage.
As this continued preference for archaeological heritage and traditional decorations as the face of national identity, whether this was done consciously or as an ingrained rule was another question we have tried to answer. The interviews and literature survey did not reveal any official decision denoting that archaeological heritage and national decorations should be the main theme of the national currency. It was rather an unspoken rule and something that was never given any thought to. It stands to mean that, while the decision to portray the archaeological heritage and the traditional decorations as the national identity, whether a conscious or an unconscious decision, the overlapping of national identity and the archaeological heritage and traditional decorations as one, has succeeded, as hardly anyone questions these depictions or think twice about it.

CONCLUSION
Paper currency notes are quiet but powerful mediums of mass communication tools the state has at its disposal. Generally, presenting the national identity to the people is the expectation of depicting images in currency notes. In Sri Lanka, the same objective has been achieved through the paper currency. The obvious presence of the heritage and traditional items, which far exceeds any other type of picture in the paper notes, amidst the daily life of the present time, can convey this message to the people. Heritage, in itself, is a medium that shows the outstanding dignity of the country. They buildup a unique reflection of the country to the world. Another plus point of the inclusion of them in the currency notes is that it invariably makes people aware of the heritage which would lead to the better protection of the heritage. The depiction of Sri Lankan traditional heritage on currency notes thus is a creative and memorable way of recording the heritage, securing the public attraction of heritage nationally and internationally.