Delft Island Fort (Tamil: நெடுந்தீவுக் கோட்டை, romanized: Neṭuntīvuk Kōṭṭai; Sinhala: ඩෙල්ෆ් බලකොටුව, romanized: Delf Balakotuwa, locally known as Neduntheevu fort and Meekaman fort) are ruins of a fort located on the island of Neduntheevu in the Palk Strait in northern Sri Lanka.
| Delft Island Fort | |
|---|---|
| Neduntheevu, Sri Lanka | |
 Delft Island fort | |
  Delft Island Fort | |
| Coordinates | 9°32′27″N 79°40′40″E / 9.540736°N 79.677769°E |
| Type | Defence fort |
| Site information | |
| Condition | Ruins |
| Site history | |
| Built by | Portuguese |
| Materials | Limestone and coral |
Traditionally attributed to the Karaiyar king Meekaman, the fort was probably built by the Portuguese.[1][2] Later, it was taken over by Dutch, who built a barrack nearby. The island was known to the Portuguese as Ilha das Vacas ("Island of the Cows"), was renamed by the Dutch as Delft Island.[3][4]
The fort was constructed out of limestone and coral. Though now in ruins, Ralph Henry Bassett describes the fort as a "very strongly fortified fort" in his book Romantic Ceylon: Its History, Legend, and Story.[5]
References
edit- ^ Devendra, D. T. (1969). "A Ruined Dagaba in Delft". The Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland. 13: i–iii. ISSN 0304-2235. JSTOR 43483470.
- ^ The Ceylon Antiquary and Literary Register. Vol. 8. Archeological Survey of India: Office Of The Times Of Ceylon. 1923. p. 252.
- ^ "Delft Island Fort". Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ "Serenity pervades Delft Island". Sunday Observer. Archived from the original on 9 November 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ "Scenic beauty and historical significance of Delft Island". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- Nelson, W. A.; de Silva, R. K. (2004). The Dutch Forts of Sri Lanka – The Military Monuments of Ceylon. Sri Lanka Netherlands Association.