Two craftsmen are rebuilding a 300-metre rubble wall that flanks the grounds surrounding Fort Rinella in Kalkara, using the traditional drystone building technique.

The original wall, estimated to be about 100 years old, collapsed and had to be dismantled to be rebuilt by craftsmen Simon Buttigieg and David Tanti following an initiative by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna.

"It's a great satisfaction to be able to build something so beautiful out of a pile of stones that would otherwise remain unused," explained Mr Buttigieg, a history teacher by profession.

The two men have mastered the craft of drystone building, used in the construction of traditional rubble walls that are characteristic to the Maltese landscape.

This system mainly consists of erecting structures by using only gravity and friction as binding agents.

Mr Buttigieg and Mr Tanti are now putting their skills to good use to rebuild the century-old wall at Fort Rinella by reusing stones from the original wall as well as rocks that were recycled from other original rubble walls.

"This is part of a larger project aimed at landscaping the area surrounding the fort so we can use it to hold large-scale historical re-enactments that complement the activities we hold in the fort," explained FWA chief executive Mario Farrugia.

He stressed the importance of ensuring that re-enactments were set in backdrops that made sense in terms of historical context.

"I've had enough of seeing historical re-enactments held in modern buildings rather than the period in which the re-enactment is set," he said, adding that this distorted the educational aspect of the activity.

Mr Farrugia said the wall reconstruction cost thousands of euros and was funded by Bank of Valletta.