During construction work at Palakkad Fort which is widely known as Tipu’s Fort and is situated in the heart of Kerala’s Palakkad Town, as many as 47 cannon shells were found. The shells were discovered from the western side of the Fort, when the ground was being dug up for drainage purposes as part of restoration work undertaken by the Archaeological Survey of India.

The ASI has shifted the shells to a protected place where they will be cleaned scientifically. These will be displayed inside the Fort on Women’s Day on March 8.

Following the preliminary study, the experts drew the conclusion that these were shells that had been stored by Tipu Sultan’s army to fight the British. It is only after determining the age of the cannon shells can an accurate conclusion be drawn as to who used them.

Although there is no historical record to establish the original construction of the fort, it is presumed that Mysore ruler Hyder Ali rebuilt the fort after he took it over in 1766. In 1768 it was taken by the British but Hyder Ali took it back a few months later.

When Tipu Sultan, Hyder Ali’s son, used it strategically in his wars against the English, it came to be known as Tipu’s Fort. The British recaptured it in 1790.