The Burmarrad water channel project being proposed by the Ministry for Resources and Infrastructure is going ahead even though less costly and less damaging solutions are available, the Malta Archaeological Society has claimed.
Last week, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage expressed concern over a planned watercourse cutting across Burmarrad valley, saying it will disturb an archaeologically sensitive area.
"In light of the regrettable disregard for cultural resources that was witnessed during the planning of the ongoing flood relief project at Marsa, the Archaeological Society considers it imperative that the current proposals be subjected to informed and transparent scrutiny, in order to find the solutions that least impact the cultural value of the Burmarrad plain," society president Patricia Camilleri said in a statement.
"The Society considers that thorough Archaeological Impact Assessments of the alternative options are an indispensable element in the process."
An application submitted to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority by the ministry refers to the "restoration" of an existing water channel built by the British in the late 1800s, but plans seen by The Times indicate that a new channel will be dug right through the valley and hardly any part of the old channel will actually be used.
"The project entails the excavation of a massive channel to accommodate an all-new concrete culvert. It seems that the pre-cast structures are already being produced and yet the permit has not even been approved," Ms Camilleri said.
Archaeological deposits that have built up in the plain for thousands of years may now be under threat, the society added.
Right up to the inner reaches, in fact, the area was once covered by the sea and it is very likely that boats were pulled up onto the ancient shoreline in the late Neolithic period.
"In Punic and Roman times, Burmarrad served as an important harbour for the island's inhabitants as well as for the various agricultural complexes in the surrounding landscape. Parts of Burmarrad harbour were still in use during the late Middle Ages.
"Hundreds of years of sediment deposition have changed much of this area into marsh and wetland that leads down to the Salina salt pans which constitute today's sea shore," Ms Camilleri said.
The Burmarrad flood plain is the second largest water catchment area on the island fed by the surrounding hills and valleys and has always been prone to flooding.
In the late 1800s, the British engineered a solution to this seasonal problem by creating a water management system of ducts and by building appropriate rubble walls. Having, to a great extent, solved the problem, they went on to construct the agricultural landscape within the flood plain and some of the original features, such as farmhouses and field walls, can still be seen today.
"Interestingly, some of the field walls were built with flat slab tops to function as causeways in case of flooding. This system functioned well until the British-built culverts and rubble walls were allowed to fall into disrepair and part of the drainage system was turned into vineyards.
"This historic 19th century landscape has already been altered and, in this context, it should be noted that Malta is bound to preserve such rural heritage by the European Landscape Convention," Ms Camilleri said.
The archaeological significance of the plain should not be underestimated, because there is the potential of finding shipwrecks as well as harbour structures, the society said.
There may be harbour deposits which could give extremely important indications about the environmental history of the ancient harbour area. Sites of great archaeological and historical value such as the Tal-Qadi temples, San Pawl Milqi, cart ruts, Punic tombs, Roman catacombs as well as early modern chapels surround the plain.