Updated 12.20pm
The Democratic Party has called for criminal liability be attached to the mismanagement and destruction of Malta’s patrimony.
It said it had “taken note” of the proposal to remove the topsoil in the Tal-Wej area of Mosta, a Class A area of archaeological importance, under the pretext of an archaeological investigation. Din l-Art Ħelwa, the PD said, is asking the Superintendent of Cultural Heritage to intervene to discover the intentions behind this proposal.
“The Tal-Qares site in Mosta suffered an archaeological survey which led to its utter destruction in favour of a showroom. The contents of this study remain secretive, and it seems that this is just another loophole for heritage to be ruined in Malta. It is undeniable that there is a routine effort to exploit loopholes and come up with excuses to annihilate Malta’s patrimony in favour of short-term gain,” the party said.
Last November, activists had expressed outrage at works to build a showroom and apartment block on a Mosta site, arguing the area might contain an underground hypogeum.
The company involved, AX Holdings, says there is no basis to such claims and that works only began following archaeological studies spanning a two-year period. Those studies, the company noted, found no such underground structures to be recorded or investigated.
Works were carried out in line with conditions imposed by the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, the company added.
READ: Historic Balluta building refused planning protection by PA
There is undeniably a routine effort to exploit loopholes and come up with excuses to annihilate it
The PD has now called on NGOs and the authorities to intervene, and for policy and legislation to be revised to close loopholes, including making those responsible for destroying the country’s patrimony criminally liable.
“The Constitution of Malta, Chapter II, dictates that the State shall safeguard the landscape and the historical and artistic patrimony of the nation. This article has been violated beyond belief, routinely, by successive governments since independence, and it is time to make it justiciable,” it said.
“There can be no excuses for the rape and pillage of archaeological sites which stretch into antiquity, which we know so little about and which can contribute so much to tourism and our understanding of ourselves. Ongoing works at the Qormi Tal-Istabal site promise the ruin of remains which include Bronze Age cart ruts, masonry remains and a unique and beautiful rock-cut tomb from the Roman period,” it added.
The Democratic Party called on the Ministry of Justice, Culture and Local Councils to ensure that Malta’s various archaeological sites, some of which lie abandoned, are included in the public domain.