In one of the largest excavation of its kind in the country, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) unearth 35, 950 Canon balls from St Angelo’s Fort, Kannur. The Canon balls were found buried when workers were digging in the fort to lay a cable channel for the upcoming light and sound show at the fort. The authorities of the District Tourism Development Committee informed the ASI after they discovered buried Canon balls.
Later a team of ASI officials carried out detailed excavation which lasted 10 days starting from Dec 9 2015, and a total of 35, 950 Canon balls were found buried at four places in the fort.
The Canon balls are of eight different weights from 250 gm to 10 Kg, and range from 10cm to 3.12cm. Two types of Canon balls made of iron are found from here. Solid and hollow. Most of the Canon balls found here are hollow inside. Out of the Canon balls found in India hollow Canon balls are very rare. The hollow Canon balls are used to fill gun powder inside them so that it causes fire at the target.
The Canon balls found here are of 6, 8, 16 pounders in size. The Canon balls are covered in salty mud. So they should be cleaned to remove rust and other dirt from them and then preserved using chemicals, says Rajeshwari, chemist in ASI. It is planned to store it in the fort itself. The Canon balls are stored in the archaeological dept room.
Cannon Balls found Buried at St Angelo’s Fort, Kannur
Kannur fort was the largest Portuguese fort in Asia. It is said that Vasco de Gama stored the remaining weapons at the seashore at Kannur. Later in 1505 the Portuguese Viceroy Francisco Almeida build the St Angelo’s Fort in that place. In 1663 the Dutch captured the fort. They later sold it to the Arakkal King Aali. Later in 1790 the British captured the fort and it became the main storage area for their weapons. Since the ownership of the fort has changed a lot during the times, a detailed study including the structure and age of the Canon balls will be needed to determine the exact owner of the Canon balls.
Some of the Canon balls found here had got damaged due to aging. It is said that there is a possibility to find Canon balls even in the sea. And since these many Canon balls are found here there is a possibility to find other weapons in the fort.
A lot of people are visiting the fort to see the group of Canon balls.