Mepa praised over megaliths find,criticised on buffer zone permits

Din l-Art Ħelwa has praised Mepa following an article that appeared in The Times yesterday about an important archaeological find in Tarxien.

Megaliths and other remains, probably dating back to the Temple Period, were discovered during development works being carried out at a site that falls within the Tarxien Temples buffer zone.

The find has been described as the most important one since a burial ground was unearthed at the Brochtorff Circle in Xagħra, Gozo, in 1990.

The NGO took the opportunity to object to a permit that has been granted for a house and swimming pool to be built in the buffer zone of Brochtorff Circle.

It also said it does not agree with a pending permit for a block of flats to be built in Mġarr, Gozo, which falls within the protected buffer zone of the Ta' Ħaġrat Temple and which is also outside a development zone.

The Ta' Ħagrat temple is protected as a Unesco World Heritage site.

Din l-Art Ħelwa called on Mepa to protect an area at Ta' Ċenċ which lies behind the grounds of the existing Ta' Ċenċ Hotel and around the Tal-Gruwa Ridge which overlooks Xewkija, because it contains archaeological remains of national importance such as dolmens and their associated features.