In classic feudal style, this wealth was consolidated into the hands of a small number of megalomaniac kings, who wisely invested it in a series of epic ancient cities. Thousands of slaves were employed as each king sought to out do their predecessor – often a blood relative they had killed to gain their position – by building structures that were bigger, higher or contained more Buddhas. 
In their day the results must have been spectacular – sixty-metre dagobas, seven-storey palaces and complex gravity powered fountains set in water-gardens to rival Versailles. The king who built Sigiriya had a harem of five hundred wives, who spent their days lounging around four Olympic-sized swimming pools. Sigiriya is a rightful contender for the much claimed title of the ‘eight wonder of the world’
In classic feudal style, this wealth was consolidated into the hands of a small number of megalomaniac kings, who wisely invested it in a series of epic ancient cities. Thousands of slaves were employed as each king sought to out do their predecessor – often a blood relative they had killed to gain their position – by building structures that were bigger, higher or contained more Buddhas. 
