Government not convinced of burial site argument
The Infrastructure Ministry has questioned the way in which the tenants of Casa Cassar, known as Casa Lanfreducci, treated the supposed remains of the knights found in the basement of the Valletta property.
The basement will form part of Renzo Piano’s open air theatre on the site of the Royal Opera House.
On Monday, NGO Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, a major opponent of the project, issued photos showing human remains found years ago in the basement, which, it said, supported the claim the basement was a burial ground.
The pictures showed bones stored in white cardboard boxes reading “pasticceria assortita” (assorted pastries).
“Had the bones been found in the basement as claimed, they should have been protected in situ and reported to the Superintendent of Cultural Heritage as required by Maltese legislation,” the ministry said, adding no such report was known to have been made.
It turned the focus on the tenants of the property saying investigations had shown a “substantial volume of rock was cut and removed from the entire area of the basement’s floor by the tenants”.
The ministry stopped short of saying who the tenants were. However, it has been reported the basement of Casa Lanfreducci was until last month used by the Maltese Association of the Knights of the Order of St John. The building was leased for 50 years in 1991 and restored by the Order. The lease was terminated by the government.
“Any archaeological features that may have once existed in the rock bed would have therefore been irretrievably quarried away and lost during these works. Such works required a development planning application and should have been authorised by the planning authority,” the ministry said.
“It is a matter of concern that individuals – who publicly hold the photographed human bones to be ‘sacred’ and the site to be of historic and archaeological importance – should have handled the alleged burial ground in such an amateurish and disrespectful manner during their tenancy of the property.”
The FAA’s claim that the remains probably belonged to Knights of the Order of St John was backed by forensic expert Anthony Abela Medici who had examined the site when they were found and agrees the ministry’s plans are “shameful”.
Meanwhile, archaeological and site reports were taking place, the government said and the human remains would be “appropriately investigated” and after that given a proper burial.
The Labour Party planning and housing spokesman, Roderick Galdes called for an inquiry into the removal of the human remains and for the planning application to be withdrawn, saying the government “could not be trusted in similar projects”.
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Sabrina Borda
Jan 20th 2011, 07:41
The "government not being convinced of the burial site argument", should look for no excuse to shadow the very fact that the government itself is however; convincing everybody else that there is no doubt it is now insisting to destroy what should in fact be protected.
Astrid Vella
Jan 20th 2011, 12:21
Well said Sabrina! Trying to blind us by what went on in the past and throwing out blame in every possible direction is no excuse for the desecration of heritage that is being proposed.
Paul Borg
Jan 20th 2011, 02:50
This sounds like what the PN are best at, making a diversion when things not going good for them. Here lots of talk of blame but no concrete details of what is going to happen. Are they still thinking of putting the toilets in the burial ground? Is that the 'cultural purpose' they meant last time?
What I do see is the defiance of 'il- bulldozer':: "The basement WILL form part of Renzo Piano’s open air theatre on the site of the Royal Opera House." - THIS IS IT NOT UP TO MEPA TO DECIDE? Or is it enother case of the Piano Project, decided before it went to MEPA?
Basta we blame the Knights for not applying for a permit when they did those works all those years ago.
Raymond Sammut
Jan 20th 2011, 00:40
If the Infrastructure Ministry keeps referring to the structure abetting the church as "Casa Cassar", then the Ministry needs to state its reasons for doing so. Where's the evidence that this structure is Casa Cassar? If there's no evidence, then why does the Ministry keep using the name "Casa Cassar"?
To those who theorise that once there was a Casa Cassar adjacent to the Victory Church, and which was the abode of Girolamo Cassar, please note that the great architect/military engineer had his residence located on Melita Street, corner with St Ursula Street (Ganado (2003), "Valletta Città Nuova A Map History (1566-1600)" p.438). Furthermore, it's highly unlikely that any residence in Valletta was ever legitimately built near either the St James or St John's Cavaliers. All residences were planned and built north of South Street.
I allege that the Lanfreducci structure is an illegal abode erected on a churchyard. I further allege that this illegal structure has been used to carry out vandalism, desecration and theft of our national heritage. In my view, this illegal structure should be cordoned by the Malta Police so that a full criminal investigation can be carried out as required by Maltese law.
Joe Azzopardi
Jan 19th 2011, 20:43
T@ Dr Anthony Abela Medici
Thank you for your illuminating information. So you are saying that when you first saw the remains these were already placed in boxes. What makes you so sure these were “formerly buried under material in this area”? You can’t objectively substantiate this statement I suspect. It is commendable that you made a “detailed report to MASMOM with copies and photos to be given to the PM and to the Church” but it was your precise duty to report the findings yourself or at least make sure that these were reported by MASMOM.
Dr Anthony Abela Medici
Jan 20th 2011, 07:46
I was informed back in 2009 that MASMOM did report in writing to the Ministry of Resources and Rural Affairs early in 2009 and I am reliably informed that the findings were discussed with the PM before this date who approved the project for the preservation of these bones and restoration of the crypt and basement by the Order.
Ivan Cassar
Jan 19th 2011, 20:34
@ Astrid Vella
Just to put your mind at rest I don’t need to be accommodating.
No it is not obvious that you and FAA would far prefer to report cases to the authorities as you never seem to choose to take that course of action. Nobody said you should just sit back and take it easy but you should always make sure that your actions are responsible and will not undermine your, FAA’s and other NGO’s working in the heritage field, credibility as is often the case.
Incidentally I would like to know which two cases you are referring to!
Astrid Vella
Jan 19th 2011, 22:39
The reason it’s not obvious that we prefer to report cases directly to the authorities is that we obviously don't trumpet them,in spite of your conviction that we handle matters in a sensationalistic manner.
While I thank you for your advice on how to handle our affairs,don’t you think it’s a touch patronising – what exactly is your problem with bringing cases to the public’s attention when it is necessary to ensure that the right thing is done?Our credibility will certainly not suffer from acting in the interest of heritage.Now if you feel that our proactive stance is affecting the credibility of other heritage NGOs, that’s another matter.
I am surprised that you are asking us to publish information about our reported cases in the media,isn’t that what you have just been accusing us of? I’m afraid that disclosing the details would jeopardise the progress that we have laboriously made on these two cases, suffice to say they’re both in Gozo.
As for our lack of reporting this case, we knew that Dr.Abela Medici had immediately passed his report on to the authorities. Might I suggest it is you who needs to check your facts?
Dr Anthony Abela Medici
Jan 19th 2011, 17:38
I was asked to examine these bones when part of the floor of the Church of Our Victory collapsed in the middle of a forgotten and hidden staircase leading to a crypt under the Church. In this crypt there is at least a 30 cm strata of material in which there are still buried human remains. On the surface there were other human remains plus an open stone sarcophagus. I only examined the surface bones and part crania. This staircase led to the outside of the Church but when the Church was enlarged in 1699 the entrance came inside the Church near the first side altar and the floor was tiled and possibly forgotten. Inside the crypt there is an entrance, currently blocked that leads to the inner room of the basement of Casa Lanfreducci and when I examined this area I found that it had been previously excavated and bones, of same age as in the crypt, formerly buried under material in this area had been previously placed in boxes. I made a detailed report to MASMOM with copies and photos to be given to the PM and to the Church. I also recommended contacting the relative authorities.
John Samut-Tagliaferro
Jan 19th 2011, 22:17
The information you give is appreciated. Allow me a question. You say that you "only examined the surface bones and part crania" in the crypt of the church. These, of course, are the last to be buried there i.e. the most recent bones buried in the church. You also say that the bones in the boxes in the Casa Lanfreducci basement are "of same age as in the crypt". You don't actually give the approximate date of burial though. F.A.A. have stated that you "forensically" dated the burials to the Great Siege of 1565. That's impressive. Can you confirm this?
victor pulis
Jan 19th 2011, 15:53
The misfortune is that in our parliament there is no one who really loves our culture and history unless it's partisan political history. They are all interested in one thing only and that's finances. We have a bunch of Barberinis sitting in parliament.
m borg
Jan 19th 2011, 16:39
@victor pulis
Politicians are a reflection of the people who vote for them.
I think you are wrong when you say that all MPs do not care about our heritage. If what you say were true than however, by implication, all the Maltese electorate does not care about our culture and history. According to you, all Maltese are barbarians.
As for politicians’ interest in finances, you know very well that heritage requires a lot of money to maintain in pristine condition. If politicians do not care about finances, there would be no money to maintain our precious heritage.
Astrid Vella
Jan 19th 2011, 15:29
@ IvanCassar:
Sir, you are being naïve, or, worse still, accommodating. Is it not obvious that we would far prefer to report cases to the authorities and then just sit back and take it easy instead of working for long hours on each case ourselves? Do you know how many cases we have taken to the authorities in the past, only to see them die there?
Two cases where we reported abuse which come to mind have been stalled before two different authorities for 9 months – in that time the Lanfreducci basement would have been totally refitted with all the pipe-work and drains necessary for multiple showers and toilets.
However it seems that is an option you would prefer, as long as lip service is done to ‘credibility’ while our heritage burns. Does that sound familiar?
Ivan Cassar
Jan 19th 2011, 11:47
It is hoped that now government will do the next logical thing and strive to obtain legally retribution from:
The Tenants for disturbing and irremediably altering and archeological site;
Anthony Abela Medici for failing to report the finds at the time they were made available to him for study;
FAA for failing to report these facts as soon as they came to know about them.
Ramon Casha
Jan 19th 2011, 10:46
The government completely ignored the opinions of performing arts experts when considering a theatre. Why expect it to consider the opinions of historical experts when dealing with burial grounds?
D. A . Agius
Jan 19th 2011, 15:25
Ehmm, Ramon, in this case I have to disagree with you.
This time it seems that a whole load of smoke was made by the previous tenants in order to find an excuse to keep the building.
From what we've seen in the last couple of days, I trust that the bones were the last thing on the tenant's mind.
m. borg
Jan 19th 2011, 22:41
@ Ramon Casha When the story broke in the Times on 6 January, the President of the Maltese Association of the Knights of the Order of St John said “ negotiations were underway to decide on compensation for the early termination of the lease.” Is this all about money after all? Is the association trying to get more compensation by attempting to make government seem to be the guilty party?
The same news item referred to the association’s plans “to reintegrate the church’s crypt with the basement to turn it into a museum for the public.” Or is the association trying to dissuade government from taking the basement away from it?
Either way, with these agendas, how credible is the story that the basement was used as a burial ground? Given that boxes can be moved from one place to another, to what extent can the now infamous bones in the ‘Pasticceria Assortita’ boxes be taken as proof that the basement was a burial ground?
Raymond Sammut
Jan 19th 2011, 23:36
@ Ramon Casha
The government did not "completely ignore[d] the opinions of performing arts experts when considering a theatre." In fact, the PM held a private meeting with representatives of the Arts' association days before a final decision was taken by the government to go ahead with the project. This association, to the best of my knowledge, was the only group that was granted this privilege following their public petition to the government.
Your logic is also false. In the Lanfreducci case there is the potential of Maltese law violation, which the Maltese government has the legal obligation to investigate. It is disconcerting that the Infrastructure Ministry wants to persist with its application.