Chaamindri Fernando
Chaamindri Fernando
Junior Fellow in Archaeology
BA in Archaeology (Ruhuna)
Embedded Files
BIOGRAPHY:
BIOGRAPHY:
Chaamindri Fernando holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Archaeology with First-Class Honours from the University of Ruhuna (GPA 3.80/4.00) and a Higher Diploma in Applied Statistics with Second Upper Class from the Institute of Applied Statistics, Sri Lanka. She also holds an ATCL Diploma in Speech and Drama from Trinity College London. Her academic and professional experience encompasses archaeological fieldwork, excavation, heritage documentation, museum collections, and research.
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Prehistory, Rock Art, Heritage Management, Cognitive Archaeology
ONGOING RESEARCH & PROJECTS:
ONGOING RESEARCH & PROJECTS:
Labour, Language, and Power: Sharat Wattala in Sri Lankan Archaeological History
Visual Reconstruction of Prehistory: Evaluating Paulus Edward Pieris Deraniyagala’s Artistic Works
POSITIONS:
POSITIONS:
Student member of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA ID 78794)
Student member of the Sri Lanka Council of Archaeologists (Serial no.: SLCA 1242)
Member of the International Union of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences (UISPP)
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES:
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES:
Assistant to the Editor, Ancient Lanka (open-access journal).
Editorial and Publication Support, Godawaya: Maritime Archaeology Special Publication No. 01 (edited volume). Responsibilities included manuscript review, content editing, proofreading, and formatting.
ACHIEVEMENTS & AWARDS:
ACHIEVEMENTS & AWARDS:
Dr. Siran Upendra Deraniyagala Memorial Gold Medal (2026) — Awarded for achieving the highest GPA in the BA (Honours) in Archaeology at the University of Ruhuna.
Wenner-Gren Conference Award (2026) — Awarded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation to facilitate participation in the 23rd Congress of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association (IPPA) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Travel Grant for the UISPP Inter-Congress (2025) — Awarded to facilitate participation and research presentation at the UISPP Inter-Congress in Indonesia.
First Place, National Writing Contest “The Meaning of Home” (2012) — Won first place across Canada in a national writing contest organised by Genworth Canada in support of people experiencing homelessness.
CONFERENCES:
CONFERENCES:
Fernando, C., Koshalee, K. V. J., Bogahawatta, C., & Pieris, T. (2026). Visual reconstruction of prehistory: Evaluating Paulus Edward Pieris Deraniyagala’s artistic works [Conference presentation, virtual]. World Congress of the International Union of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences (UISPP), Poznań, Poland, 31 August–4 September 2026.
Fernando, C., Koshalee, K. V. J., Bogahawatta, C., & Pieris, T. (2026). Labour, language, and power: Sharat Wattala in Sri Lankan archaeological history [Conference presentation]. Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA), Athens, Greece, 26–29 August 2026.
Bogahawatta, C., Koshalee, K. V. J., Pieris, T., & Fernando, C. (2026). A silenced pioneer: Simon Casie Chetty and early Sri Lankan archaeology and anthropology [Conference presentation]. Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA), Athens, Greece, 26–29 August 2026.
Koshalee, K. V. J., Bogahawatta, C., Pieris, T., & Fernando, C. (2026). Colonial science vs. living heritage: Walisinha Harischandra’s critique of colonial archaeology in Anuradhapura [Conference presentation]. Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA), Athens, Greece, 26–29 August 2026.
Koshalee, K. V. J., & Fernando, C. (2025). Integrating prehistory into school education in Sri Lanka: A conceptual exploration [Conference presentation]. International Union of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences (UISPP) Inter-Congress, Indonesia.
Page updated
Report abuse