Clapham Junction and cave dwellings

I would like to clarify several points brought forward by Paul Mifsud (The Sunday Times, June 17). As an archaeologist specialising in the rural Late Medieval archaeological heritage of Malta, I have extensively studied the Ghar il-Kbir cave complex, which until around the turn of the 19th century was still used for human habitation.

The garigue stretch of land know as Misrah Ghar il-Kbir is an archaeologically sensitive area within which multi-period remains consisting of cart-ruts, various surface quarries, several of which probably date to the Punic/Roman occupation of the island, Punic shaft and chamber tombs, and the Ghar il-Kbir cave settlement. At a height of 750 feet above sea level Misrah Ghar il-Kbir commands impressive views of Verdala Palace and Buskett to the north and the Dingli settlement to the northwest.

With the exception of the Upper Coralline Limestone quarry, which at a distance of around 50 metres from the western border of Ghar il-Kbir has encroached dangerously on the site, the Misrah area Ghar il-Kbir region is of great archaeological and ecological importance and should be preserved at all costs. The area is certainly not accessible to the fainthearted visitor accustomed to walking on manicured landscape - a fact which has so far aided the preservation of the area and adds charm to the visitor experience.

The Ghar il-Kbir complex is composed of a sunken cortile formed due to land subsidence and in the sides of which eight caves have been excavated over two different levels. As one of Malta's more important troglodytic sites, which when visited by Gian Francesco Abela in the 1640s was inhabited by 117 people, it is unfortunate that during the past half a century it was allowed to fall into a shameful state of disrepair.

The date for the first human settlement in the caves is unknown, but it probably has a long history. Troglodytes were certainly well established in 1544 when a "Simone Camilleri de gar il chibir" was mentioned in a notarial deed of Notary Brandon de Caxaro.

Maintenance works carried within Ghar il-Kbir during the past months mainly involved the rebuilding of the cave screening walls and the removal of stone and soil deposits in one of the upper level caves, and were co-ordinated by the Projects Unit of the Malta Tourism Authority (letter by Ms Pauline Dingli, The Times, June 20).

After decades of decadence and neglect, this renewed interest in the site is a much-awaited breath of fresh air. It has to be nonetheless pointed out that unless supervised by qualified archaeologists, future on-site interventions should avoid the removal of subsurface deposits. Archaeology is a destructive process and unless adequate recording practices are employed, this will result in an irreversible loss of data.

It is sincerely hoped that this is not a one-off project, but an official recognition of Malta's Late Medieval troglodytic potential. In the north and northwest sectors of the Maltese Islands there are numerous other Late Medieval cave-dwelling sites, a handful of which I consider to be of great importance to Malta's rural heritage, and which equally merit adequate conservation and preservation measures.