Early Christian catacombs get a clean-up

The catacombs at Karwija, limits of Kirkop, are being cleaned under the supervision of Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna.

The catacombs consist of three chambers characterised by arches, pilasters, decorations and headrests. They are located just a 100 metres away from St Benedict's College.

Their rehabilitation is part of the planning permit obligations to be fulfilled by the Foundation for Tomorrow Schools as the school's developers.

The catacombs were full of rubble and soil, which made cleaning all the more difficult during the rainy season. The site will be fenced off after the cleaning to discourage illegal dumping and vandalism that has plagued this site in the past years.

An interpretation panel will be installed to raise awareness about the historical importance of this site. FWA is aiming to take full management of the site in the near future.

The tombs were discovered in 1962 and were excavated by Flight Lieutenant Jordan. The tomb had already been disturbed during the excavation of an air-raid shelter during WWII, which had led into the end of the inner chamber. Despite all the previous disturbances, a good quantity of human bones and fragments of pottery had been found. Most of the pottery fragments consisted of shards of late Roman lamps dated to the fifth century with some shards bearing the CHIRHO monogram (an early Christian symbol denoting Christ). This marks the catacombs as an Early Christian burial site.

The site only got noticed again in 1992, when another small catacomb was discovered next to the already excavated one during housing development.

The tomb was discovered without any archaeological deposits as the chamber had been cut and deepened at one point and transformed into a cistern. The area around the tombs was not developed and was surrounded by a low wall that still stands today.

The cleaning works carried out by the Cleansing Department within the Infrastructure Ministry, are supported by the Kirkop local council.