Vasai Fort of Mahrashtra and the historical artifacts discovered a decade ago.

Navrang India March 23, 2025

The historical sites near Mumbai metropolis of Maharashtra state include many forts like  Sion Fort, Bandra Fort, Mahim Fort, Worli Fort, Sewri Fort, Vasai Fort, etc that have unfortunately  suffered damages in the past. Part of the damages were caused by the conflicts among the local rulers and European colonists like the Portuguese and the British and part of the pathetic  condition is due to lack of periodic repairs on the heritage  monuments by the government   officials. 

The British who had been in India  for a long period mostly in the eastern parts of India for mercantile trade, took control of the isles off Mumbai  through a marriage treaty with the  King of  Portugal. The wedding of the  Princess of  the  Portuguese ruler and the British Prince  was a crucial historic event in British India. The British prince was in dire need of finance.  Along with the isles, the Portuguese Princess also brought 500000 pounds as part of dowry. It helped the British groom a lot.  

Strategically one of the most important forts, was  Vasai fort (bassein) facing the west coast of India  was  built with thick stone walls enclosing a small town with barracks for the soldiers, houses for  civilian, churches, Christian missions, armory storage space for grains, etc.  In the early part of the 19th century the East India Company took control of the fort after taking the isles, forts, etc on lease in 1661 from the British Prince for a small sum of Just one pound a year. 

In 2016, the ASI and the state governments took keen interest to repair some of historical forts, including Vasai and to make them a tourist destinations for the visitors from the city and  elsewhere.   When  widely exploring the historical fort about a decade ago, when the officials dug the ground, several feet below they accidentally trampled upon archaeologically important artifacts that throw light on the age of the fort. 

Vasai Fort, MH tripoto.com

Vasai(Bassein) Fort, MH .tripoto.com

Above image: Vasai Fort on the Indian west coast once served as the headquarters in the north for the Portuguese colonists. 

Vasai fort artifacts Mumbai indiatimes.com

Above image: Vasai Fort, MH:  Historical artifacts Antiquities  were found at  the Balle Killa,Vasai Fort between 2014 and 2015 while the officials from the ASI and others were exploring the inner part of the  fort.  The artifacts include pottery, bowls, etc including a sunken well.  Officials said, they date back to roughly 750 years.''It is  not uncommon to find pottery, bones and artwork dating back to that period whenever we remove the vegetation to expose the flooring.'' Also found along with them were a sunken well ( l that had sunk half a metre into the ground)  and  a stone tablet. The Chinese traveller Xuanzang later on in June or July 640 visited the site. According to historian José Gerson da Cunha, during this time, Vasai and its surrounding areas appeared to have been ruled by the Chalukya dynasty of Karnataka.

It  is said that the pottery items suggest the presence of a burial ground  as Vasai happened to be an important seaport........

Portuguese acquired the fort as part of their expansion plan on the west coast of India through a peace treaty with the Sultan  of this region and  the Kingdom of Portugal on 23 December 1534. While on board the galleon São Mateus the treaty  was signed conclusively, ending the skirmishes and raids by the colonists. Based on the terms of the agreement, the Portuguese Empire gained control of the city of Vasai (Bassein), as well as its territories, islands, and seas.The fort came up in 1536 CE. 

Fort Vasai (Vasai killa in Marathi, Fortaleza de São Sebastião de Baçaim in Portuguese, Fort Bassein in English) is a ruined fort of the town of Vasai (Bassein), Konkan Division, Maharashtra, India. The structure was formally christened as the Fort of St Sebastian in the Indo-Portuguese era. The fort is a monument of national importance and is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India. Vasai, then a small township with in the fort is historically an important one among many forts nearby.  It is 70 km from Mumbai.