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James Debono
In a normal country which values cultural heritage, Salina could be one of Malta’s main attractions. A heritage trail could take visitors on a voyage through time spanning from the Roman occupation, through to the sojourn of the Knights of St John, right down to the present, with the salt pans serving as a living museum on the same model as Mazaro del Valle in nearby Sicily.
But a walk through the real Salina offers the visitor only the sharp taste of national neglect: a situation common to most, if not all, of Malta’s hidden cultural assets.
The Salini salt pans – a major architectural feat of the Knights – and the adjoining military fortification built by Grand Master Ximenes in the late 18th century, stand out as testimonies to Malta’s heritage crisis.
The salt pans are no longer used for salt production: an activity dating back to the time of the Knights of Saint John. Today’s huts, one of which collapsed after the 2003 storm, are only used to store imported salt.
The Salini were granted on temporary emphyteusis to Silka Ltd for 35 years in 1987, on condition that the site was maintained in good condition. The lease will expire in November 2021. Its present holder, Joe Fenech, was bound to spend Lm80,000 to rehabilitate the site which was in need of repair after the 1979 storm. The salt pans have in fact been wrecked in the three major storms to hit the country in the past three decades: in 1979, in 1998 and 2003.
But despite the evident neglect of the area, Joe Fenech denies rumours that he is deliberately leaving the site to slowly decay with a yacht marina in mind. Instead, he argues that any further investment in the site would be pointless, without a long term solution to the problem of constant flooding.
“Not only have we spent the agreed money, but we spent double that amount only to watch this investment carried away by the damage caused by the next two storms.”
Fenech insists that works carried out by the works department in 2005 have not solved the flooding problem.
“The major cause of flooding were roadworks in the 1950s. The culverts easily get blocked by material deposits during rain storms. The result is that the drain canal which feeds the salt pans with water gets flooded.”
The soccorso channel was an architectural feat of the Knights of Saint John, who developed a wide channel on one side, counterbalanced on the other side by a narrow channel. According to the Knights’ plans, rainwater was directed into the pans through the wide channel. This also served to drain the surrounding marshlands which many believe originally gave the area of Burmarrad – a source of diseases such as malaria – its name.
According to Fenech, this delicate balance was destroyed by the road which passes over the intersection of two channels.
“In my opinion, the only solution is to construct a fly over and do away with the culverts which also get blocked. This will restore the delicate balance.”
Fenech, who is now committed to rebuilding the hut destroyed in the 2003 storm, and restoring the others, insists that he cannot invest further in the salt pans as long as these are exposed to freak weather.
“I certainly did not want to commit any money until I saw the results of works conducted by the Works Department in 2005.”
The dredging of the Salini waterways was conducted by the government’s Works Division to clean the blocked and silted-up stormwater channel, subject to monitoring by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage.
The controversial works had commenced before the Works Division was awarded a full development permit. Some 14,000 cubic metres of silt and algae were dredged by the division from the 800-metre canal. Stone material removed during these works still lie on the site.
But Fenech was concerned that this activity could place further pressure on the walls protecting the salt pans, whose foundations lie underwater. He also insists that the site is still exposed to the risk of another storm.
Fenech calculates that it would cost him thousands of liri to strengthen the walls and restore the salt pans. Meanwhile, the fish-farming activity previously carried out on the same site has now been abandoned, even if relics of this activity can still be seen.
He was allowed to conduct this activity through a contract approved by the Lands Department in 1994.
The salt pans are not the only heritage site in the Salini area. Across the road one finds the Ximenes redoubt – a unique example of military engineering from the late 18th century. Photos taken by MaltaToday show pipes passing through the fortification. The moat is full of litter, and parts of it are visibly damaged.
While the fortifications falling within the grounds of the Coastline Hotel are well kept and an attraction to visiting tourists, the part of the redoubt covered by the Silka lease is in shambles. Fenech acknowledges that the redoubt was used for storage but complains that he cannot carry out any further investment on the derelict site. Fenech himself had in 1998 proposed creating a cultural park in the Salini area.
“We wanted to integrate the redoubt in this project, but the authorities did not show any interest.”
A small walk uphill from the redoubt, along Triq il-Kapella tal-Lunzjata, will take the visitor to a number of unmarked historical remains, resembling a cluster of catacombs. Recent development has encroached upon these ruins, which lie outside the Silka lease.
Construction material was dumped just a few meters away from these remains, despite an enforcement order against illegal dumping issued by MEPA in 1997. But still the dumping continues, facilitated by an illegal road cutting right through the area.
Commenting on encroaching development in 2003, archaeologist Prof. Anthony Bonano said: “The area should definitely be surveyed before any application is processed any further, especially in view of the catacombs in the vicinity.”
More neglect is evident near another a cluster of well-kept and marked catacombs, also in the vicinity of the Lunzjata Chapel.
According to MEPA’s local plan, the site should be safeguarded from development due to its archaeological importance. Most of this site was zoned for terraced houses within the limits to development in the Temporary Provisions Scheme of 1988. In 2003 the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage indicated that the area is well known for a number of unique early Christian catacombs and the protection of such features in this area must be accorded high priority in conformity with their cultural significance. The Superintendence recommended that the Development Zone be modified to protect the archaeological resources of the area.
The local plan only permits development after surveys on any historical remains are conducted. Should the investigations reveal only insignificant remains, permits are set to be issued. The risk is that any surviving remains will end up covered in rubble before any studies are conducted.
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
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