Tissa Wewa is an artificial lake located in Sri Lanka. The lake is thought to have been created in the second or third century BC,[2] most probably by King Yatala Tissa, the founder of the Ruhuna Kingdom[3] or by his uncle King Devanampiyatissa, ruler of the neighbouring Anuradhapura Kingdom,[4] in order to irrigate paddy lands and supply water to the flourishing city of Tissamaharama.[5] The lake was restored in the nineteenth century.[6] The embankment (or bund) on the southern shore supports the Tissa-Kataragama road (B464), which is lined by old Indian rain trees planted by the British to provide shade.[7]