Archaeology cooperative seeks to establish heritage trails

The monitoring of trenching works at Mdina and documenting of important archaeological findings by the Archaeology Services Cooperative is over and members are now concentrating on other work, keeping an eye open for new opportunities.

One such project cooperative members are eager to promote is heritage trails with local councils and hotels, cooperative chairman Katia Stroud said.

"Local heritage does not just consist of prehistoric temples and Roman villas. There is more," she said.

Cooperative member Ernest Vella said that today, in view of the pride of identity embraced by local councils, there was more awareness on the heritage of the various localities.

The cooperative is working with Mellieha council for the setting up of a museum related to tuna fishing in the past.

A battery dating back to the time of the Knights still stands at Ghadira Bay and remains of nets, boats and tools used to process tuna were kept at the battery.

Ms Stroud said the cooperative has carried out research on the tunnara and is in the process of drawing up an inventory before organising the display of the equipment at the museum.

The cooperative has also carried out research to establish the historical importance of sites in various towns and villages where they were contacted by councils to lay out heritage trails. The archaeologists' job was to prepare drawings and information for leaflets on such trails, Ms Stroud said.

The Archaeology Services Cooperative was formed in March, 2000, and consists of a group of eight archaeologists with various fields of specialisation.

It aims to promote awareness of, and appreciation for, the archaeological and historical heritage of the Maltese islands as well as to carry out works in the maintenance, preservation, conservation and management of archaeological sites.

Through its services the ASC has established contract archaeology in Malta for the first time.

One medium- to long-term objective of the cooperative was to involve itself in site management, Mr Vella said.

The cooperative was also seeking to work in partnership with the private sector to conserve and manage archaeological sites under the supervision of the Museums Department.

"As students of archaeology we had known how difficult it would be to find work when we finished our course even though our area of specialisation was vast," Mr Vella said.

So the students decided to do something themselves instead of waiting for work to come their way.

"We see what opportunities exist and work on contracts assigned to us," he said.

Contracts are mainly from the government or the Museums Department but there are also opportunities with the private sector, he added.

Ms Stroud, the cooperative's only full-time employee, said: "The cooperative proved to be a successful experiment and members are proud of what it has achieved in its first two years."

Mdina was the most important project so far.

"Trenching works to lay underground services and collect information on the archaeological remains required the constant presence of archaeologists," she said.

Since Mdina had a rich history, the Museums Department, and the then Planning Authority, insisted that all works at the old city had to be monitored by archaeologists.

She said that difficulties encountered at Mdina were related mainly to time restrictions since the project had to go on without interruption.

"We tried to carry out our work as meticulously as possible but at the same time we knew that other workmen had to continue with their jobs. We had to be there full time with the workers.

"But all along we found the support of everyone, including the residents of Mdina who were themselves interested in our work and findings during the 18 months we spent there," Ms Stroud said.

The cooperative members insist that the archaeological findings at Mdina and relevant information collected during excavations should be made accessible to the public, especially to students studying the subject.

Ms Stroud said that Mdina was the first opportunity for the public to watch the unearthing process of important archaeological findings and to ask questions about the findings.

Other work carried out by the cooperative during its two years of existence included an assignment by the Museums Department to survey and make scale drawings of the damage caused at the Mnajdra Temples in April last year.

Valletta Rehabilitation Project, together with the Malta Experience had also entrusted the cooperative with preserving what remains of the Chapel of Bones, which formed part of the Sacra Infermeria, close to Evans Buildings in Valletta. The idea is to clean the area and make a platform for visitors and to install information boards.

Cooperative members had also carried out excavations for MIDI consortium in the fortress area in Manoel Island in order to establish whether anything of archaeological importance was present before mechanical shovels were used to remove material in connection with development there.

Cooperative members are also working on a heritage trail for the area of ir-Ramla l-Hamra in Gozo.

Ms Stroud said the cooperative was now contacting leading hotels with a view to establishing heritage trails.

"Awareness is still limited and, in the case of local councils, budgets are a problem but they are realising that to attract people to the locality such activities had to be created," Ms Stroud said.