Tuesday, 8th July 2008
Important archaeological find in Tarxien
Pottery shards date back to Temple Period
An archaeological discovery described as the most important in 18 years has been made at the site of the Tarxien temples.
Malta Environment Planning Authority (Mepa) officials discovered megaliths and other remains, which are most probably prehistoric, during development works within the buffer zone of the Neolithic temples.
The site was described by archaeologist Kevin Borda as the most important one since a burial ground was unearthed at the Brockdorff Circle in Xagħra in 1990. It lies within a plot of land measuring 25 by eight metres towards the back of the plot.
The megaliths and boulders were found together with pottery shards made up of rims, handles and bases in an area measuring roughly four by four metres. The shards have scratched and incised motifs which date them to the Temple Period.
The discovery was made during a routine inspection by the Heritage Planning Unit within the Forward Planning Division at Mepa, following the issue of a permit for the re-development of an existing building within the buffer zone. The zone was scheduled by Mepa in 1998.
During the inspection it was noted that demolition and site clearance works had uncovered a number of features which date back to 4,100-2,500 B.C.
"The importance of the site is enhanced by the possibility that there are other structures beneath the intensive building works that were carried out in the 1980s in the Tarxien area," Mr Borda said.
In line with the Cultural Heritage Act, 2002, Mepa has submitted the information to the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage which has confirmed the interpretation of the features as identified by the Heritage Planning Unit. The agencies are now collaborating to investigate the features and ensure their preservation.
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Comments
Mepa showed something which it could not hide.
It is a place for a shovel , bucket and a brush.
No1. is the underground and caverned aqueduct along St Joseph High Road up to Sarria.
No2. is the Wignacourt tower, (it turretta) in St Gaetan Str, sandwiched between two houses, and Mepa issued a full developement permit to one of these houses to construct an additional floor, Instead of demolishing these house so that this Wignacourt Tower can be brought to the attention of the general public.
No3. is the De Rohan obelisk, and here lies the big laugh. This Obelisk was constructed by Grand Master De Rohan to commemorate repairs on the aqueduct in 1790. This Obelisk is stacked in a backyard of a private garage, surrounded by other household backyards in St John Street. Nobody is aware not even heritage maltaof this landmark,log on to www.hamrun.com which is the Local Council's website where you can see some pictures of it. Affixed to this Obelisk is a marble plague commemorating this event bearing De Rohan's coat of arms.
A heritage site unknown to everybody, lying in private backyards, and Mepa issues permits for additional floors to houses surrounding these priceless structures.
It should be clear that more information and better education should be provided by the authorities to combat such misconceptions and to prevent the damage these keep causing.
If you read closely the 2002 Cultural Heritage Act, you would know that the law in Malta states that the land will only be confiscated as a last resort, and only in very special cases (ex: if a hypogeum is found on your land), and the owner will be given in compensation the amount of money he would earn if that piece of land is developed!
Yours is a common misconception about how archaeology is conducted in Malta. Unless something out of the ordinary is found, investigations and surveys are done, and then the land is returned to the owner (some restrictions maybe placed, depending on the case).
Lots of harm has been committed to our national heritage in the past. Who can assure us that this harm is not still going on today? Most people would do their best to hide such discoveries fearing the confiscation of their property - whether this would actually be the case or not.
I have heard several ex-masons recounting how they were given orders from superiors (and probably authorities) to bury up such findings - on many occasions even during the night - in the 1960/70s in the Ggantija plot area, Xaghra, for example. The foundations of most of the buildings in the area must contain several precious information about our neolithic past. Pity it was destroyed and buried up, probably forever.
I think that this information which has been cut off from the story shows good co-ordination between different departments within MEPA and other authorities and gives merit to all the parties concerned. But for any reason the media doesn’t want to show this picture. When it’s about MEPA and it’s Enforcement it’s always BLACK!!
Why did they grant the permit in the first place?
I think that Liam Kelly can read English between the lines.
Luckily, Mepa has a unit called Heritage Planning Unit . From what I can understand, after reading this article, without such a unit every bit of stone, shard and pottery connected to our heritage would be bulldozed and destroyed forever.