This huge dagoba is 55 meters (178 feet) tall but was considerably taller when it was built in 140 BC. King Dutugemunu had it made but did not live to see it completed. His brother organized a false bamboo-and-cloth finish on the scaffolding so the king's final sight could be his enormous masterpiece. Invading Indian armies caused much damage but that has been mostly repaired. The frieze of elephants which surround the dagoba are almost all modern replacements.