AMN /
The Archaeologists of the Archaeological Survey of Indian, ASI have wound up the excavation works that unearthed nearly 35,950 cannon balls at the historic Fort St. Angelo at Kannur in Kerala. It is said to be the biggest collection of cannon balls in a single place recovered from South India.
The excavation was accidental since the cannon balls were found while digging to lay cable for a light and sound show to be started shortly in the historic monument by the state Tourism Department. Sources said, the cache of cannon balls excavated from four locations inside the fort is so huge that the ASI archaeologists will have to take weeks to clean and treat them to identify their history.
The fort built on a tip of land jutting out into the sea overlooking the Mappila Bay of Kannur, in north Kerala, was constructed by the Portuguese in 1505 and subsequently controlled by the Dutch and the British. Then the region was under the Kolathiry dynasty of Chirakkal. The ASI is also planning to make arrangements for the display of the balls for visitors to the monument.
The iron cannon balls recovered from the site are of different radius and weight, including solid and hollow that were for use during operations by filling gunpowder. ASI said, efforts would be taken to rope in historians and experts to identify the period of the balls and the history that could explain the findings.