Delft Island Fort (; , locally known as ''Neduntheevu fort'' and ''Meekaman fort'') are ruins of a fort located on the island of

Neduntheevu Neduntheevu or Nedunthivu (; ) (also known by its Dutch language, Dutch name Delft) is an island in the Palk Strait, northern Sri Lanka. This island is named as Delft in the Admiralty Chart unlike the other islands, whose names are Tamil. The isla ...

in the

Palk Strait Palk Strait is a strait between the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It connects the Palk Bay in the Bay of Bengal in the north with the Gulf of Mannar in the Laccadive sea in the south. It stretches for about ...

in northern Sri Lanka. Traditionally attributed to the

Karaiyar Karaiyar is a Sri Lankan Tamil caste found mainly on the northern and eastern coastal areas of Sri Lanka, and globally among the Tamil diaspora. They are traditionally a seafaring community that is engaged in fishing, shipment and seaborn ...

king ''Meekaman'', the fort was probably built by the Portuguese. Later, it was taken over by

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

, 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''. The fort was constructed out of limestone and coral. Though now in ruins,

Ralph Henry Bassett Ralph Henry Bassett CMG CBE (16 February 1896 – 18 July 1962) was a British colonial civil servant in British Ceylon who served as Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Industries and Fisheries, Ceylon Government. Early life and education ...

describes the fort as a "very strongly fortified fort" in his book ''Romantic Ceylon: Its History, Legend, and Story''.

References

* {{Forts and fortresses of the Portuguese empire, state=collapsed Dutch forts in Sri Lanka Forts in Northern Province, Sri Lanka Neduntheevu Portuguese forts in Sri Lanka Archaeological protected monuments in Jaffna District