Mullaitivu Fort (Sinhala: මුලතිවු බලකොටුව; Tamil: முல்லைத்தீவுக் கோட்டை) is an old Dutch fort in Mullaitivu District, Sri Lanka. A few ruins of this fort is still found within the premises of the Mullaitivu Divisional Secretariat (Asanga & Nishantha, 2018).
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History
The fort was built in 1715 by the Dutch as a small wooden structure (Asanga & Nishantha, 2018). In 1721 it was converted into a quadrangular fort with two bastions (Asanga & Nishantha, 2018). Vanniars of the Vanni principalities invaded the fort in 1766 and the control of it was completely taken over by the British in 1795 (Asanga & Nishantha, 2018). Although Vanniars captured the fort on 25 August 1803 with the help of the Kandyan King, Captain von Driberg and his troops managed to regain control of it (Asanga & Nishantha, 2018).
The fort
Presently, a part of the wall of a storeroom of the fort can be seen within the premises of the Mullaitivu Divisional Secretariat (Asanga & Nishantha, 2018). Fired bricks and lime mortar have been used for the construction of it. The remaining part is 2.4 m in height (Asanga & Nishantha, 2018).
A protected site
The Dutch Fortress at Mullativu situated in Grama Niladhari Division, Mullativu town in the Divisional Secretary’s Division, Muhudubadapaththu is an archaeological protected monument, declared by a government Gazette notification published on 24 March 2016.
References
1) Asanga, M.V.G.K.; Nishantha, I.P.S., 2018. Pauranika Sthana Ha Smaraka: Mulathivu Distrikkaya (In Sinhala). Archaeological Department of Sri Lanka. ISBN:978-955-7457-25-3. pp.116-118.
2) The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. No: 1960. 24 March 2016. p.228.
Location Map
This page was last updated on 2 July 2022
