Blasts from the past

Scores of people flocked to Fort Rinella in Kalkara yesterday afternoon to see snippets of history repeating themselves through a number of re-enactments.

Young children shrieked and covered their ears as volunteers dressed in soldiers' uniforms fired their rifles at the invisible enemy.

But the shrieks turned to cries of excitement as two horses galloped onto the field to give a marvellous show of the cavalry's role in battle.

It was all part of an open day organised by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna. The cavalry show was a first for the foundation, which is planning to increase the number of horses it makes use of.

Foundation chairman and CEO Mario Farrugia explained how experimentation with different soldier formations went back to the time of the Romans.

As the "soldiers" demonstrated the use of the bayonet, Mr Farrugia explained that the blade was triangular so that wounds would take longer to heal. This was all the more dangerous because of the lack of hygiene on the battlefield. In fact, many wounded soldiers died because of complications from the wound rather than the injury itself.

However, Mr Farrugia continued, bayonets were seldom used - they were left as a last resort for defensive purposes.

The open day ended yesterday with the firing of an original late 19th century cannon.

Fort Rinella was built by the British in 1878 as part of a set of four coastal batteries in both Malta and Gibraltar. Each fort was armed with a single 100-ton gun.