Part of second original door of Mdina found

Part of the second original door of the city of Mdina was recently found during excavation works at Vilhena Palace.

The Mdina Rehabilitation Project in the Resources and Infrastructure Ministry is currently restoring and upgrading the palace. As part of this work, an archaeological dig was made in the forecourt after the removal of the thick concrete flooring dating back to the early 20th century.

Project executive coordinator Ray Bondin described the finds as being of great importance.

"Though existing maps give information on where the original three doors of Mdina were, finding part of a 14th century door is another matter.

"One side of the door, together with the wall behind it, including some plastering, and a small part of the original paving has been found," he said in a statement yesterday.

There had been doubts as to whether any original structures would be found.

The excavation was commissioned by MRP from the Archaeology Services Cooperative, whose main archaeologist on site, Katya Stroud, worked under the direction of Nathaniel Cutajar from the Museums Department.

The finds were extensively documented and have been re-covered in a way to ensure that they will not be damaged and can easily be re-excavated if necessary.

MRP is currently preparing for the paving of the palace forecourt, which is now back to its original size as soil and some trees, including eucalyptus, have been removed.

The project is being sponsored by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation of Lisbon.