Fougasse

The Fougasse is one of the most fascinating adjuncts of coastal defence introduced in Malta by the Knights of St John in the 18th century. The fougasse formed part of broader military arrangements that were designed to protect the shores of the Maltese islands against invasion. Carved out in the rock, the Fougasse-Perrier (as it technically known) is a sort of large well dug close to the shoreline that was cut at a 45-degree angle. Technically, this hollow was shaped to simulate a mortar and designed to fire a huge mass of stone boulders. The objective was to shower about 300 boulders (stones) of various sizes to hit the enemy ships and boats intent on disembarking their troops at a nearby bay – a veritable early form of ‘weapon of mass destruction’.

In all some 64 fougasses were cut in the immediate years after 1742. 50 of these fougasses are situated in Malta and the other 14 in Gozo. Today, unfortunately, only a handful is known to have survived since many fougasses were destroyed as a result of development along Malta’s coastal areas. One of them was recently discovered at the 'Xatt l-Ahmar' coast in summer of 2005. The fougasses here were meant to keep back the enemy from landing and attacking Fort Chambray.