The author and editor of the booklet 'An illustrated guide to prehistoric Gozo', which was published recently, have expressed concern over the future of the Mixta Cave Dwellings in Gozo due to their close proximity to an operating quarry.
The author of the second revised edition, Prof. Anthony Bonanno, said the quarry had already eaten up some of the caves, which had been excavated in an "uncontrolled" fashion, finding early neolithic pottery.
It was at the site off the Gozitan village of Sta Lucija that the earliest pottery of the Maltese Islands - earlier than Ghar Dalam - was found.
Prof. Bonanno said it was not known whether there was any limit as to how far the quarry would stretch, and it was feared that it would eat into the whole plateau.
"We need to be assured that the limits would not be surpassed," Prof. Bonanno said.
The Mixta caves lie on the northwest side of the Ghajn Ghabdun plateau, which is recognisable from the white scar and gaping hole created by the quarry not more than a few metres away from the back of the site.
The caves that have now been obliterated were excavated by archaeologist D. H. Trump in 1959/60 and were the oldest. But those that survived had "great potential. They remained in use even up to the 1950s", Prof. Bonanno said, auguring that they had not been vandalised since he last saw them.
"We hope and have reason to believe that even the existing caves have deposits that date back to as early as the previous ones. But they have not been excavated."
Excavation requires permission from the competent authorities and the approach, which Prof. Bonanno agreed with, was to "let things lie unless they are in pending danger and being threatened" - as was the case with the Mixta Cave Dwellings.
"They are a heritage feature on their own. Not only are they interesting because they are natural caves, but also because they have been used by humans for ages, which renders them part of Malta's cultural heritage."
'An Illustrated Guide to Prehistoric Gozo' highlights that the Mixta Cave Dwellings are known to be the first in Malta to have been inhabited by humans.
The booklet said the only authorised excavations, conducted by the Museums Department in 1969, took place along the edge of the plateau, closer to the operating quarry, and had to be abandoned because of the imminent collapse of the overhang due to quarrying.
On that occasion, only Bronze Age pottery was retrieved.
Prof. Bonanno said the situation fell under the competence of the Museums Department, or Superintendence, since the reform of the former.
While pointing out the lack of university representation at any level in the new set-up, Prof. Bonanno said it was up to the relevant institutions and the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to take the necessary action.