A number of wells and water management features have been discovered on the site of the former offices of Times of Malta in Valletta during an archaeological investigation, the heritage watchdog said.
A spokesperson for the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage told Times of Malta that a number of important cultural features were found during the demolition of the building, which previously housed the offices and printing press of Allied Newspapers Limited.
A shelter known to have been in use during World War II was also unearthed.
“During the monitoring of the demolition of the building and site clearance, a number of wells and associated water management features, together with a WWII shelter, were discovered. Some of the wells were utilised as historic dumps,” the spokesperson said.
Sources had previously described what looked like cisterns beneath the now-demolished building.
The features have been investigated and all cultural material collected. The more important of these features are being retained while the less important ones were partly truncated in line with the existing permit, the spokesperson said.
The discoveries were made while the site was being cleared by hand and without the use of heavy machinery.
A spokesperson for the developers, Hili Twenty Two Limited, which acquired the St Paul Street property in December 2018, said it intended to preserve every piece of heritage found on site before the SCH concluded its investigation.
The Planning Authority last year unanimously approved the application to demolish Strickland House and replace it with 37 residential units including a penthouse and a townhouse on three floors over a car park with 63 parking spaces and 13 spaces for motorcycles.
The application was given the go-ahead after the project was scaled down from the original 50-plus residential units.
The building had been purchased by Lord Strickland in 1930 to host his printing press and it was home to Times of Malta from the newspaper’s founding in 1935 until all operations were moved out of Valletta to the current premises in Mrieħel five years ago.
The original building withstood the ravages of World War II, despite being bombed twice, but it was burned down by Labour Party supporters in October 1979 in what came to be known as Black Monday
The original building withstood the ravages of World War II, despite being bombed twice, but it was burned down by Labour Party supporters in October 1979 in what came to be known as Black Monday.
Although the printing press was destroyed, the newspaper was published as usual the following day from another press, retaining its record of never having missed an issue.