Cesare Vassallo was a lawyer who spent a few weeks residing in Selmun Palace in September 1856. During his stay, he kept a diary in which he documents important observations regarding Selmun and its surroundings. Despite the many changes that have occurred at Selmun since Vassallo’s stay, the ‘profonda solitudine’ that the Għajn Ħadid tower and its surroundings offer, remains timeless.

Graphic simulation of Għajn Ħadid tower and its surrounding structures. Photo: Courtesy of Stephen C Spiteri

Għajn Ħadid’s ‘profonda solitudine’ is mainly due to its remoteness from the nearby hamlet of Selmun and the village of Mellieħa. Unfortunately, in the past, the defenceless Mġiebaħ Bay and Għajn Ħadid inlet were frequent targets of corsair galleys plying the local waters in search of easy prey. Such inlets served as suitable landing places for their razzias. One of the earliest accounts of such an encounter can be found in an official edict, published on May 23, 1473. In this edict, the Capitano della Verga relieved two local guards (Saycu Xerri and Agustinu Xebirras) of further militia guard duties, to reward them for their bravery during a violent encounter with Moorish corsairs. These corsairs managed to land at Selmun, under the cover of darkness, but ended up in a skirmish with the two Maltese men.

Such constant corsair incursions depopulated Mellieħa, so much so that it ceased to be a parish in later years. Eventually, it was the Knights of St John who sought to remedy the situation, by erecting fortified structures designed to provide Selmun and Mellieħa with some form of permanent defence. Nine years after the construction of the Torre Rossa, Mellieħa acquired its second tower, Torre Selmun or Għajn Ħadid tower.

Għajn Ħadid tower was the first of a series of 13 towers to be built by Grand Master De Redin. This was stated on the marble plaque that once crowned the sole entrance of this tower. The 13 De Redin towers were built along most of Malta’s coastline, to form a chain of communication whereby alarms of approaching corsair/enemy vessels could be relayed from one post to another until the signal reached Valletta.

The interior of the ground floor room contains the remains of three pairs of impost blocks and possibly putlog holes. Photo: Author’s collection

Torre Selmun was located on top of a cliff face overlooking Mġiebaħ Bay. From this spot, the tower commanded an uninterrupted view of l-Aħrax tal-Mellieħa, Comino, Gozo, St Paul’s Bay and Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq. Its construction began in March 1658, and by May of that same year, the tower was erected. It was built in the mere space of two months for the cost of 530 scudi.

Unfortunately, the tower was partially demolished in an earthquake on October 12, 1856. According to Vassallo, the ground surrounding the tower was covered with wide cracks and crevices, to such an extent that he was surprised that the tower had not yet collapsed. It seems that Vassallo foresaw the collapse of the tower, as one month later, the tremors caused by the 1856 earthquake in Crete brought down the upper floor of Għajn Ħadid tower.

Since the 13 De Redin towers were built along the same plan, this makes it easier to envisage how Għajn Ħadid tower once stood before its collapse. Each tower consisted of two rooms, one on top of the other. The ground floor room was probably used for storage purposes and had its ceiling supported by three rib arches. The first floor room served as the living quarters and was roofed by a barrel vault. Hence, since these towers were built around a barrel vault, they were able to mount heavy artillery on their rooftops. A spiral staircase built into the thickness of the wall of the tower provided access to the roof, where a small exit room sheltered the guards on duty.

Section through the sloped wall making up the base of Għajn Ħadid tower showing how the angle of the scarped walls was achieved by tilting the masonry blocks. Photo: Author’s collection

Despite lying in ruins, the remains of Torre Selmun provide insight into some construction techniques utilised during the time of the Knights. Just like the other De Redin towers, the base of Torre Selmun was given a pronounced batter. It is interesting to note that the angle of the scarped walls was achieved by tilting the masonry blocks, rather than by reshaping the surface of the stone. In the words of Stephen C Spiteri, this technique is rarely found in Maltese fortifications.

In addition, the walls making up the internal ground floor room still contain the remains of three pairs of impost blocks. These impost blocks served as the base of the three rib arches that once supported this room’s ceiling. A curious feature present among the remains of Torre Selmun’s ground floor room is what appears to be putlog holes. Putlog holes were small holes made during the construction of a wall. They were usually intended to receive the ends of wooden beams to support some sort of scaffolding. Their exact purpose in Torre Selmun is still unknown, but they could have supported the wooden formwork employed in the construction of the three rib arches.

The sole entrance into De Redin’s towers was through a doorway located on the first floor. This could have only been reached by means of a retractable ladder made of wood or rope. It seems that the militia soldiers stationed inside Għajn Ħadid tower accessed this sole entrance using a wooden ladder. This is stated in a 1743 report, when all coastal towers were inspected by the Giurati of Valletta and Mdina, as part of the measures taken to prevent the plague in Sicily from reaching Malta. This report is very compelling and reveals interesting details on the towers’ state as well as some of the torrieri’s everyday practices.

The report reveals that Għajn Ħadid tower needed maintenance as rainwater was seeping into the tower’s room. This was usually due to open mortar joints that required repointing or riboccatura. In addition, the torrieri residing in this tower used to cook snails in the shaft underneath the spiral staircase. This resulted in soot being deposited along this staircase, causing it to appear imbrunita… per cagione di fumo.

Furthermore, the document highlights the new role of Għajn Ħadid tower and the other coastal fortifications in 1743. Apart from corsair and enemy galleys, these fortifications now also had to look out for any incoming vessels from Sicily. Vessels arriving from Catania, Palermo and Messina were denied entry into Maltese harbours, given the possible risk of spreading the plague. Thus, these fortifications now formed an integral part of the cordon sanitaire set around the island.

According to Francesco Marandon’s list of measures undertaken in 1743, a guardiola alla Torre Selmun was added. This guardiola would have offered some protection to the sentinels stationed here, while surveying the coastline for any suspicious activity. A surviving example of such a guardiola can still be found at Wied iż-Żurrieq tower.

A plan of Għajn Ħadid tower and its surrounding structures from Mgr A. Mifsud’s unpublished work. The complex consisted of (A) Torre Selmun, (B) the militia rural-style masonry hut, (C) some kind of infantry rubble-walled parapet, (D) a small sentry room, (E) a gabinetto, (F) a small cooking hut and (G) various animal pens surrounded by low rubble walls. Photo: Courtesy of Paul. P. Borg, Selmun – A Story of Love, 1996

Accompanying the tower, one finds the remains of an interesting complex of structures. There is a lack of information regarding these remains, but Mgr A. Mifsud’s work provides important details regarding this complex. By studying the surviving remains and Mgr Mifsud’s plan, one can hypothesise that this complex consisted of: (i) a militia rural-style masonry hut, (ii) some kind of infantry rubble-walled parapet that defended the doorway of the aforementioned hut, (iii) a small sentry room with three vision slits and an open staircase that presumably led to this room’s roof, (iv) various animal pens surrounded by low rubble walls, (v) a small cooking hut, (vi) a gabinetto, and (vii) a well.

Since the Għajn Ħadid cliffs lie on the outskirts of Selmun, the area lies off the beaten track (to some extent, even nowadays), implying that this outpost was fairly difficult to reach and resupply. For this reason, this complex bears several self-supporting facilities.

A view of the south flank of the militia rural-style masonry hut showing one of its horizontal loopholes. Photo: Author’s collection

The militia rural-style masonry hut is a curious structure. This rectangular room had a single doorway and was roofed by a series of bridging stone slabs (xorok) resting upon five wooden beams. The style of building is very similar to other contemporary rustic buildings. However, the presence of two horizontal loopholes and the infantry parapet that defended its doorway distinguish it from other rustic structures and indicate a military origin.

The plan from Mgr Mifsud’s unpublished work and his paper ‘La Milizia e le Torri Antiche di Malta’ reveal that this room was referred to as camera da guarda coste. The system of guarda coste, also known as maħras, had been used since the Middle Ages as a form of early warning system against corsair incursions. Nevertheless, it is difficult to conclude the origin of this room due to two main reasons: (i) the paucity of information available, and (ii) the fact that there do not appear to be any other known surviving examples.

It is well worth mentioning that although Ta’ Tabibu tower in St Paul’s Bay is traditionally considered a dejma watch post, its structure and design are different from those of Għajn Ħadid’s masonry hut. Hence, the militia rural-style masonry hut at Għajn Ħadid is a unique structure, with no other known surviving examples, thus making it more difficult to shed light on its genesis.

Some of the surviving animal pens surrounded by low rubble walls. Photo: Author’s collection

Eventually, the threat of corsair incursions receded with time. In fact, in 1786, Turcopole Giuseppe Agius paid a random check on Torre Selmun and found that the tower was abandoned. Following this, Agius got hold of a musket and fired a shot. Soon after, the torriere and cacciatore appeared. They had been fishing some distance away!

Torre Selmun was labelled as a tour de fer (iron tower) in some French maps (for example the Carte De l’Isle De Malte and the Plan du Débarquement de l’ Armée Française a Malte). Ironically, after 198 years of dominating Għajn Ħadid’s barren cliffs, the tour de fer collapsed in 1856, following an earthquake. Nowadays, its decaying remains serve as a testimony to the attempt made by the Order of St John to safeguard these islands from corsairs, the Ottomans, as well as the 1743 plague.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Stephen C Spiteri, Jeffrey Sammut and the staff at the National Library of Malta for their help and assistance with the article.