The Martello Tower (Sinhala: මාටෙලෝ කුළුණ Matelo Kuluna) in Hambantota, is a small circular shaped fort, inspired by the Martello tower (a 15th-century fort at Mortella (Myrtle) Point in Corsica that survived an attack by the British Royal Navy in 1794).

The tower was built between 1804 and 1806 to protect the harbour and settlement at Hambantota, following an unsuccessful attack by Kandyan insurgents in 1803.

Construction of the tower is credited to a Captain Goper of the Engineers Corp (however no individual by that name appears in the British Army records).

In September 1803 HMS Wilhelmina stopped briefly at Hambantota, where she dropped off an eight-man detachment from the Royal Artillery, who reinforced the British garrison there and later helped it repel a Kandian attack.

[2] Hambantota fort was built Dutch in 1760 with the purpose of protecting the salt pans.