Fort Hammenhiel

                                               Fort Hammenhiel is a one of the archeological monuments in the Jaffna District. This fort was built on small island which is situated between the islands of Kayts and Karaitivu of Jaffna District. Two epigraphs of the Cola period were found on the wall at inside of the Fort.It was constructed by the Portuguese and named Fortaleza do case in the mid-17th century. The Dutch, captured the Fort in March 1658 and subsequently renamed it Hammenhiel (Heel of the Ham). It was regarded by the Dutch as the key to Jaffna and it was specified that the garrison of 30 should all be Dutch the Dutch rebuilt the fort in 1680. Constructing a stone breakwater, filling in the hollow ramparts, replacing the upper floor with a stone vault and building a brick lined reservoir to the north of the fort. The Fort was surrendered without resistance to the British in 1795.The British used the Fort firstly as a maximum-security prison and then as an infectious disease`s hospital. During the Second World War, it was used as a base for the “Special Operations Group”. Currently this Fort is managed by Sri Lankan Navy.