The scheduled area of archaeological importance (AAI), which covers Mdina and parts of Rabat, has been extended to incorporate the Tal-Virtu’, the planning authority said (Mepa).
It said in a statement the total protected area now covers more than 1.5 square kilometres. Concurrently, Mepa also scheduled 76 newly discovered archaeological sites within this area.
When in 1998 the authority scheduled the area it had, together with the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage (SCH), initiated monitoring procedures whenever planning permission was granted for development works to be carried out.
Through the monitoring, the authority and the SCH discovered 76 new sites containing a number of archaeological features which relate mostly to the Bronze Age and the Classical period.
Following the discovery of these archaeological remains, minor modifications were made to the original plans with the cooperation of the applicant ensuring their proper documentation and preservation while permitting the completion of the approved development projects. Such an approach wasa further step towards ensuring sustainable development, Mepa said.
It said that all new finds provided important data that enabled a further understanding of the complex layering and divisions of the urban fabric of the ancient city.
Out of the 76 sites, 39 consisted of ancient burials, the more common types being small catacombs which generally consist of one or two corridors containing few burial chambers or recesses and occasionally agape tables.
More extensive catacombs were also discovered with a notable example having baldacchino tombs, arcosolia and window tombs, and an impressive rock-cut scallop shell motif, a decorative element commonly found in Rome’s catacombs.
Modern day Rabat and Mdina overlie the extent of the ancient Roman city of Melite, which consisted of a residential and public area confined by the natural topography along its northern, western and eastern extents.
A rock-cut ditch and fortifications ran along its southern extent coinciding with today’s Triq Santa Rita. The city was also provided with an extensive necropolis, which in line with Roman custom, was situated outside of the city walls. The necropolis (a large roman cemetery) was situated to the south of Triq Santa Rita spreading outwards till the Tal-Virtu’ promontory.
Consecutive re-building and re-modeling of the area throughout the centuries resulted in the destruction of the larger part of the ancient fabric and its necropolis.
However, part of the remains survive buried beneath the modern city and in some cases these archaeological remains have been exposed, mostly during the 19th and 20th centuries, and are still visible at the surface, the most notable being the Roman Domus and the St Paul’s and St Agatha catacombs.
Archaeological monitoring has also revealed examples of multi-period ancient fortifications within and around Mdina, including cart-ruts within the urban area.