The guns fired everyday at noon have been moved from their base at the saluting battery at the Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta to make way for urgent restructuring works in the old war rooms.

The eight guns were lined up for the last time on Thursday in the saluting battery, overlooking Grand Harbour, and fired when the clock struck noon.

Three hours later, using forklift trucks, government workers carefully removed seven heavy cannon and placed them on a truck before taking them away to be stored under the watchful eye of Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna, which takes care of the guns.

To keep up with the midday firing tradition, the eighth cannon was placed in the upper tier of the gardens where it was fired at noon yesterday. This will continue until the area is restructured and works are completed in April.

The saluting battery area will be excavated for waterproofing to stop storm water from flooding the underlying historic war rooms in Lascaris Ditch.

The works are sponsored by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority through its environmental initiatives fund and will be carried out by Resources Ministry employees.

The battery forms part of the Valletta’s fortifications, which started being built in 1566, one year after the Great Siege. It occupies one of the most strategic positions in Grand Harbour with Fort St Angelo, across the water.