It was the government which asked the Superintendent of Cultural Heritage to investigate the case of Casa Lanfreducci, the government said.

The government has come under heavy fire over the project from NGO Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, which says the remains, found a few years ago, date back to the time of the Great Siege of 1565 and are proof the basement was an extension of the crypt of the adjacent church of Our Lady of Victory, Valletta’s first building.

In a statement this afternoon, it said the country’s laws were clear on who should be informed about archaeological finds and this was the Superintendent, who, unfortunately, had not been involved in the case except lately at the request of the government.

The government said a number of issues still had to be cleared. These were:

• Who found the bones;
• Where;
• Who had carried out excavation works on the basement of Casa Lanfreducci; And
• Whether there had been the necessary authorisation for this work to be carried out.