Nine 200-year-old cannonballs uncovered at Fort Cornwallis

GEORGE TOWN: Barely a week after two cannons said to be over 200 years old were found at the Fort Cornwallis, nine cannonballs are discovered at the same trench.
One of the cannonballs measures about 10cm in diameter while the others, resembling canister shots, are between three centimetres and six centimetres in diameter. They were uncovered from Feb 26 to 28.
All these were uncovered by graduate students from the Centre for Global Archaelogical Research in Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Its group spokesman Nurulnatasha Azman today said USM's archaeological team is finalising plans to move the cannons safely from Fort Cornwallis to its centre for conservation.
It has to take into consideration that the cannon, which weighs 1.5 tonnes, is fragile.
"The transfer is expected to take place in the first week of March," she said in the presence of Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
The excavation project is an initiative by the state to reinstate the historical moat and other defensive outworks surrounding the 232-year-old Fort Cornwallis.
It is endorsed by Jabatan Warisan Negara and is being conducted by George town Conservation and Development Corporation (GTCDC), a collaboration between the state, Think City and Aga Khan Trust for Culture.
On Feb 19, the Centre's director, Prof. Datuk Dr. Mokhtar Saidin and his team had discovered two historical cannons while digging for the main door of the fort.
The inscription on one of the cannons suggested they date to the reign of King George III (1760-1820). With this discovery, Prof. Dr. Mokhtar had said the early interpretations of the historical British fort as a peaceful site could be changed.
Lim congratulated the team of archaeologists for their feat in discovering the cannonballs.