Last-ditch attempt to save wall that could date back to Bronze age

A court of appeal will decide on the fate of a rubble wall in the Ta’ Dun Wistinu fields, in Żebbuġ, Gozo, which is believed could date back to the Bronze Age.

The claim is made in an affidavit by photographer Daniel Cilia, who cites the renowned archaeologist David H. Trump telling him that the rubble wall, characterised by a row of large boulders, could be a Bronze Age-structure as indicated by pottery shards found in the area.

Unless action is taken, the row of exceptionally large boulders could be obliterated to make the way for a 12m-high block of two maisonettes just metres off the ridge edge, as well as the urban conservation area (UCA) and the building zones limit (ODZ).

The permit is now being challenged in the law courts, after it was confirmed by the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal last year. It is being contested on planning grounds mainly because of the height of the proposed development is allegedly in breach of policies requiring an adequate transition towards the UCA, and because the development is located on a ridge edge where blank party walls are not allowed.

The EPRT dismissed this concern, arguing that another plot separates the ridge from the proposed development, and that the blank party wall would be covered by the development of the adjacent site.

But the appellant has also submitted evidence that a rubble wall characterised by very large boulders could date back to the Bronze Age.

The documentation submitted by the appellant includes the affidavit by Daniel Cilia, a photographer known for his photos of cultural heritage artifacts, who recalls visiting the site with the late archaeologist Dr David H. Trump, who had helped John Davies Evans excavate Ġgantija in the 1950s and who took part in the excavation of many important sites in Maltese prehistory, including the Skorba Temples and the Xagħra Stone Circle.

Cilia recalled that Trump “had shared my suspicions that the wall could date back to the Bronze Age.” Pottery found in the vicinity of the wall examined by Trump also confirmed these suspicions.

The appellant also submitted an affidavit by Dutch archeologist Adrian Van der Blom, who contends that the wall in question contains a row of ‘cyclopean boulders’ (boulders heavier than an average person can carry) which could be an indication that the structure – similar to other walls found in Borġ in-Nadur in Birżebbuġa and other sites in Gozo – dates back to the Bronze Age (2200-700 BC) or even earlier.

In its decision the EPRT had dismissed these concerns, arguing that when consulted during the planning process the Superintendence for Cultural Development had not objected to the development and that the site did not have any archaeological value.

The EPRT’s sentence states that the permit was issued with a condition obliging the developer to conduct archaeological ‘monitoring’ during the works, which means that works should be supervised by an archaeologist.

But the permit itself simply included a standard proviso that any accidental discovery found during the works, has to be reported to the authorities, and makes no reference to archaeological monitoring.

The archaeological potential of the site in question is confirmed by its inclusion in a map included in the local plan which identifies archaeological sites in Gozo which should be safeguarded.