Heritage superintendent aims to create public-friendly set-up

The new organisations that are replacing the Museums Department would prove to be a success story if a public-friendly set-up was created, according to Museums Department director Tony Pace.

As superintendent of Cultural Heritage, his aim is to move away from the idea that the reformed organisation is just another government institution to be complained about.

However, he fears that public perception is an ingrained, cultural matter and would be hard to change.

The organisation required "a good social policy on heritage, which is not just a tourist issue."

Mr Pace predicted that the restructuring and migration of the department into the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage and Heritage Malta would be a gradual process, which had to involve dialogue.

The department was currently working on the Superintendence and Heritage Malta budgets for November. A technical audit was being carried out "to see where we are at as regards every ongoing tender".

The next step would be to split and allocate the department employees.

"The department is fortunate to have only 200 employees, with whom it can handle dialogue."

The idea was to move away from the standard government department structure, with its restrictive hierarchy and employment grades, creating a more horizontal employment structure, with more room for management initiatives and "to move ahead".

Despite the upheaval, projects were not on hold, Mr Pace assured, adding that once the whole organisation of Heritage Malta and the Superintendence fell into place, Tas-Srug and other sites would be looked into.

No excavations have yet been carried out at the Tas-Srug site in Xaghra where prehistoric remains of what could be a village site dating back to between 5,200 BC and 4,000 BC were found in June.

Mr Pace said the Tas-Srug site and others were in a stable situation and could be left to lie for the time being.

Tas-Srug was important in view of pending development projects and Mr Pace maintained that it ought to be protected until it was excavated after which further decisions could be taken.

He also mentioned two other recently discovered "good" sites: one in an urban area and the other in the countryside, which have unearthed important, interesting relics.

However, it was premature to disclose details, he added.

Regarding fears that an expanding quarry in Gozo could possibly eat up the Mixta Cave Dwellings, Mr Pace said the department had not received any applications for extended boundaries.

In any case, the department was against quarrying and had already taken a stand against the extension of the quarry on the Ghajn Ghabdun plateau by Sta Lucija.

In his opinion, "the whole hill should have been preserved. It is one of those rare hills the edge of which is surrounded by caves. It is also a wonderful walk".

In general, the issue has always been "the balancing act between quarrying and finding alternative sources of construction materials".

Mr Pace questioned the level of research on alternative building methods and said the situation was such that new stone was quarried and the landscape destroyed without any recycling of construction material.

The quarries issue must be sustainable, he said, and this was not simply a matter of deciding on permits.

"We are using resources from limited sources. What is going to be done 15 years from now?"

Regarding the so-called underwater temples, following inspections the Museums Department has described the evidence presented so far as "completely unconvincing".

Among the underwater sites inspected by the department was one mentioned by Dr Hubert Zeitlmair in 1999 and another reported by Dr Anthony Mifsud on November 12, 2001.

The department has said that Dr Zeitlmair, who first made the claim in 1999, never actually dived on the site. Nevertheless, various web sites, books and other media continue to claim that a megalithic temple was discovered in Maltese waters.

The sea bed around the Maltese Islands is an important archaeological repository that deserves many decades of serious exploration and research, it said.

At the end of the month, an Italian military vessel would be carrying out surveys of the sea to the south of Malta.

The Mediterranean is packed with underwater sites and wrecks in major territorial areas needed to be located and managed, Mr Pace said, adding that logistically the sea was a difficult place to work in.

"We have support from some divers, but not from others."

Mr Pace said the department took every report it received seriously as it was duty-bound to do. As a matter of routine, a number of archaeological and manmade sites were inspected every year.

Speaking about Malta's ancient and historic landscape, Mr Pace said the focus had to be on the long term and that the issue had to be discussed seriously.

"We only have one tiny island, packed with historical and environmental resources, and we are quarrying them away, bringing down rubble walls and taking the old stone into town centres."

"Are we taking care of our historical centres properly, or is the concept of rehabilitation only applicable to Valletta, Mdina and Cottonera? What is the quality of work going into other town centres?

"We are thriving on imitations of things, such as the use of pseudo cobbles. These many elements could end up contributing to a huge mess," Mr Pace said, adding that the Malta Environment & Planning Authority had to do something about the situation.

The yearly National Forum, which is to be part of the new set-up, is intended to be open to the grassroots and involve dialogue with local councils, developers, hunters and trappers and anyone interested.