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This thesis deals with the question of people's participation in rural development in Sri Lanka with specific reference to the district of Anuradhapura. When we consider people's participation in rural development it is essential to understand the meanings attached to the concepts of development, rural development, participation and decentralization. Therefore, Chapter 2 of this thesis concentrates on these concepts. The nature and degree of people's participation depends in great part on the socio-economic and cultural aspects of the people who live in the region or the area. Therefore, Chapter 3 deals with the significance of the rural sector in Sri Lanka and investigates income levels, nutritional status and employment, the village society, and the socio-cultural patterns of Sri Lanka. This chapter especially considers the socio-economic and cultural situation which effects people's participation in Sri Lanka. The importance of rural development is discussed in Chapter 4. This chapter explains the scope of rural development in Sri Lanka. In this case the chapter concentrates on the history of rural development, decentralization, and integrated rural development programmes. Also it describes the organizations which already exist in the rural sector in Sri Lanka. Chapter 5 discusses Anuradhapura district as a case study and it mainly deals with the situation and basic features, such as agriculture, economy, population, education and labour force. Also, it describes the administrative structure of the district with special attention to political structure, Kachcheri and divisions, other departments and the Buddhists temple. Institutional capacity and effective participation in Anuradhapura district is discussed in Chapter 6 in order to analyse the effectiveness of organizations in the district. To achieve this objective Chapter 6 discusses the integrated rural development project in Anuradhapura district and the reasons for people's non-participation in it. The thesis concludes that people's participation is an essential ingredient of successful rural development in Sri Lanka but there are a number of constraints. Some recommendations to promote the people's participation are given in the conclusion.

No / In contrast with artefactual studies of long-distance trade and exchange in South Asia during the Prehistoric and Early Historic periods (Ardika et al . 1993; Gogte 1997; Krishnan and Coningham 1997; Tomber 2000; Gupta et al . 2001; Ford et al . 2005), few scientifically orientated analyses have focused on artefacts from the region¿s Historic period. During excavations at the ancient city of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, a number of buff ware ceramics with a putative organic coating on the interior were recovered (Coningham 2006). Dated stylistically to between the third and ninth centuries AD , analysis of the coatings using gas chromatography¿mass spectrometry (GC¿MS) and stable isotope analysis (carbon and deuterium) confirmed that the coatings are bitumen¿an organic product associated with petroleum deposits. There are no known bitumen sources in Sri Lanka, and biomarker distributions and isotopic signatures suggest that the majority of the samples appear to have come from a single bitumen source near Susa in Iran. The relationship between the bitumen coatings and the vessels is discussed, and it is suggested that the coatings were used to seal permeable ceramic containers to allow them to transport liquid commodities. This study enhances our knowledge of networks of trade and exchange between Sri Lanka and western Asia during Historic times.