Two British experts in the management of prehistoric sites are in Malta for 10 days to exchange knowledge and experience with Maltese organisations and authorities, under a programme partly funded by the EU.

The two experts are Melanie Pomeroy-Kellinger, an archaeologist and heritage management expert specialising in prehistoric sites, and Isabelle Bedu, Stonehenge World Heritage Site Coordinator.

They will be participating in an international seminar series being held as part of a Malta-Wiltshire Centurio partnership and launched at Heritage Malta in Valletta yesterday. Yesterday's seminar was opened by British High Commissioner Vincent Fean and Heritage Malta chairman Mario Tabone.

Created by the Assembly of European Regions in 1994, Centurio aims to promote exchanges of know-how and experience in the field of regional democracy and administration between civil servants and elected representatives from European regions.

Through this programme there will be exchanges of heritage professionals between Malta and Wiltshire.

The two British experts will be visiting different sites and meeting non-government organisations and authorities such as the Malta Tourism Authority and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, discussing problems and making comparisons.

Mr Fean pointed out in his introduction that although sites in Malta and the UK were very different, there were a number of common factors.

Sites were national icons in both countries and both countries had sites on Unesco World Heritage Lists.

The EU was now blessing and facilitating exchanges between Malta and the UK by co-financing a series of visits.

Mr Tabone said that since it was set up two years ago, Heritage Malta had constantly tried to forge closer links with colleagues in other countries.

Prehistoric heritage, Mr Tabone said, was a very fragile commodity. The creation of a management plan for the Maltese temples had been long in coming and it was now a priority.

A coherent management plan was vital but it had to be underlined by serious academic research, he said.

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