Harry Charles Purvis Bell


Harry Charles Purvis Bell, CCS, more often known as HCP Bell, was a British civil servant and the first Commissioner of Archaeology in Ceylon.

Early life

Born in British India in 1851, he was sent to England for his education at Cheltenham College.

Civil service career

Without going to university, Bell came to Ceylon as a civil officer in the Ceylon Civil Service and went on to serve as a customs officer. He thereafter served as a District Judge.

Archaeology

Appointed an official archaeologist, in July 1890 the Governor of Ceylon, Sir Arthur Gordon, appointed Bell as the first Archaeological Commissioner and Head of the Archaeological Survey of Ceylon. he carried out many excavations in Ceylon for the Archaeological Survey during an appointment running from 1890 to 1912 and claimed to dig treasures hidden in the Sigiriya and sent to England.
After retirement, he also investigated the archaeology and epigraphy of the Maldives, where he had been earlier in his life. and studied the linguistics of the Maldivian language. Bell had developed a good friendship with the king of the Maldives, who put his own royal schooner Fath-ul-Majid at his disposition to carry out archaeological research in certain atolls south of Malé.

Works

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