TIRUPATTUR: A 300-year-old fort has been discovered by the Tirupattur District Heritage Conservation Centre during a recent field survey along the Tamil Nadu–Andhra Pradesh border. The fort was located atop an 800-foot hill at Venkatarajapuram, a village in Lakshmipuram panchayat of Chittoor district, near Vaniyambadi in Tirupattur.
The survey was led by Dr A Prabhu, professor of Tamil at Sacred Heart College, along with social activists Muthamizh Vendan and V Radhakrishnan.
Dr Prabhu said the structure, built with black stones, baked bricks and mud, features armouries, hiding places, cannon platforms, watchtowers and strong double walls measuring four feet in thickness. Rainwater was once diverted through canals and stored in cisterns, he noted. “The fort has never been documented anywhere, including history books. From a distance, it looks like part of the hill, but battle remnants like broken bombs are still visible,” he said.
While forts at Mathakadappa and Ramakuppam in the region are well-known tourist spots in Andhra Pradesh, the Venkatarajapuram fort—locally referred to as Nawab Kottai—remained hidden.
Historians point out that the region was ruled by Jagadevi Rayar, a Vijayanagara descendant, between 1578 and 1669 AD. He is said to have built 12 forts across the Baaramahal region, which included parts of Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Uthankarai, Tirupattur and the Kangundi Zamindari. The dynasty ended when its last ruler was killed in battle with Bijapur general Mustafa Khan in 1669.
The fort later came under Mughal control in 1565 and was subsequently contested by the Marathas and the Nizam. By 1714, it was under Nizam Nawab Abdul Nabi Khan, who constructed three forts in the region, including the one at Venkatarajapuram.
Dr Prabhu added, “I believe the fort would have been destroyed during British attacks. It is surprising there is no record of it, despite Tamil Nadu’s rich history of forts.”