Manhole covers for the entrances to the newly-discovered World War II shelter in Sliema’s Annunciation Square have been requested by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage to ensure its future accessibility.

The shelter was discovered during government roadworks earlier this week and the SCH, which conducted an inspection on Friday morning, has also requested a detailed survey to map out its full extent to be drawn up by the architect responsible.

Friday's onsite visit was held to assess the shelter’s condition and determine the need to commission any studies that may be required, the SCH said.

Superintendent Kurt Farrugia said the shelter was in a good state and relatively clean too. The sizeable refuge had private rooms and access to private residences, which would have linked up to it when it was excavated. The well-preserved shelter, surrounded by listed buildings, deserved attention, said Sliema mayor Anthony Chircop.

Plans to close shelter off

However, the local council had no intention of taking it over to open it to the public, as was the case in Dingli Circus, where the vast shelter had flooding issues.

Chircop’s idea was not to interrupt the project under way and to “close the preserved shelter off in a way that it could be opened regularly in the eventuality of an idea on how it could be used”.

Unearthed by chance, although its existence was documented, he said the shelter meant one thing for his generation, but in future could provide “memories and an idea of what our ancestors went through”.

Shelter should be mapped and documented: architect

Architect Edward Said, a Sliema resident who has been researching the locality’s subterranean heritage for the last 20 years, maintained that the entrances should be left accessible for posterity, “rather than closed off and, essentially, forgotten”.

Excavated around 1941, an inspection had revealed graffiti, initials and numbers on the walls, which needed to be explored and recorded to be able to understand more about the use of the space.

“It is safe to say that each and every one of the 90-odd shelters in Sliema is unique, formed according to the layout of the public space they were excavated in and the condition of the rock.”

Said called for the shelter to be re-mapped out and for research into evidence, even in the form of anecdotes and photographs, to be conducted.

The architect compared the importance of the discovery to a similar one in Pietà at the end of last year, also resulting from roadworks.