Ghost of first European fort built in Asia rises from Fort Kochi shore

Time of India

8 hours ago

Kochi: Monsoon waves have peeled back time at Fort Kochi's South Beach, revealing what experts believe are lost remnants of Fort Emmanuel — the first European fort built in Asia.
The laterite-rock-and-surkhi structure, buried under layers of sand and stone, emerged after heavy sea erosion stripped away the coastline.
Surkhi is a type of brick dust or red oxide powder, mixed with lime to create a binding agent for plastering or flooring.
Marine geologists from Cochin University said the exposed ruins likely belong to Fort Emmanuel, constructed by the Portuguese in 1503. "Parts of the fort are under these rock blocks and they get exposed annually," said Ratheesh Kumar, assistant professor of marine geology and geophysics at Cochin University.
"We're working to determine whether this is the original Portuguese structure or the one rebuilt by the Dutch.
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The current neighbourhood of Fort Kochi — Europe's first colonial settlement in Asia — gets its first name from Fort Emmanuel. It changed hands from Portuguese to Dutch to British between 1503 and 1947. The ruins offer rare physical proof of that layered colonial history.
The discovery comes a couple of years after stone artefacts unearthed during Kochi Water Metro work on the northern coast of Fort Kochi were identified as remains of a Portuguese church, likely demolished during Dutch occupation.
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"The rocks from that site match crustal blocks along the Munnar-Theni-Rajapalayam stretch, once a known Portuguese ghat trade corridor," said Kumar.
Both discoveries — north and south of Fort Kochi — have triggered a wave of global academic interest. Researchers from Europe and beyond are contacting the Cochin University team for detailed analysis. "This shows Fort Kochi's potential to be recognised as a colonial renaissance heritage site," Kumar said.
That heritage comes at a cost. Much of Fort Kochi's beach is vanishing to sea erosion — though the sea gives back fragments of history long thought lost.