Heritage Malta has recently undertaken an intensive refurbishment programme at the Roman Villa in Rabat that involved upgrading both the museum and the presentation of its collection. Inaugurated by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi on 26 February last year, it now hosts a modern museological setting befitting this unique site, that of a Roman townhouse.

It is here that Heritage Malta initiated the ambitious quest of implementing its mission statement – to ensure that those elements of cultural heritage entrusted to it are protected and made accessible to the public; ensuring that all heritage, tangible and intangible, owned by the agency is conserved, restored, administered, managed, operated, marketed, studied and presented for exhibition in the best possible way.

The project was conceived and initiated in 2001 with a strategic alliance happening for the first time on the island between two major organisations: the then Museums Department and the Malta Tourism Authority, the major organisations entrusted with the management and promotion of Malta’s unique heritage. It was clearly established from the start that the synergy achieved by these two organisations should result in the development of tangible results within the heritage sector and for this reason, the site then known as the Roman Villa was chosen.

The Roman Villa was a strategic site within the heritage map, revealing stratigraphic archaeological remains with uniqueness resulting within the Roman and Islamic stratigraphic layers of the ancient city of Melite, whose remains, although accessible to the general public, were not given their due importance as was being achieved within other major prehistoric sites. Therefore the team recognised the importance of not only refurbishing this site but also of creating a strong didactic tool for both these periods in situ. Clearly, the authentic archaeological evidence prevalent on the site required long-term preservation.

This ideology was not only recognised by Heritage Malta but also by other stakeholders who became active participants and contributors to this project within their specialisations. Heritage Malta, as owner and manager of the site, became the unifying ingredient between all organisations concerned, that included other authorities in the sector on conservation, heritage regulations, environmental planning, education, employment, traffic management, disability issues, landscaping as well as working with the local communities and non-governmental agencies. Their contribution not only enriched the project but also engaged a wide public ownership.

The synergies developed between all the organisations concerned not only allowed all expertise to be directed towards one national goal but also allowed the project to achieve its desired objectives within very limited budgets and cutting much bureaucracy.

The Roman Villa or Domvs Romana museum is strategically located in the centre of the island just outside the walls of the old capital city of Mdina and originally housed a unique collection of Roman antiquities recovered from all over the island. The collection it housed up until 2002 included objects of domestic, funerary and agricultural significance as well as architectural. Although sited within a unique setting designed by architect Galizia, the collection made little sense within the site, and especially within the old exhibition layout. The collection, together with the title of “Roman Villa” also provided the setting for misinforming the public about the true value of the site.

The site encompassed mainly the outstanding archaeological ruins of a Domvs Romana (townhouse) dating to the Roman Republican period (first century BC) as well as bearing testimony to the Islamic presence in the 10th century AD within the ancient city of Melite. With this in mind, it was decided that the site would be museologically redesigned, with a view to not only reinterpreting the site, its territory and the collection, but also of providing physical and intellectual access for all.

The general aims and goals of the project included the:

• Consolidation of the current existing visitor centre – Galizia Building Grade A

• Refurbishment and installation anew of all utilities and services

• Redefinition, conservation and reinterpretation of the Roman collection

• Monitoring of environmental conditions of the site and the mosaics

• Conservation of the mosaics

• Presentation of a didactic and interactive display for the public

• Consolidation and integration of the external archaeological site

• Development of other ancillary products and services.

This is the first archaeological site on the island to be fully accessible to people with special physical needs and is the site that is earmarked as the pilot project for all specialist audiences.

The synergy created with the National Commission for Persons with a Disability – not post-project development but within the initial planning and development stages of the project – is setting the platform for all other archaeological sites and their development on a nationwide front. It also seeks not only to implement physical accessibility but also to create other forms of accessibility and interpretation for special users and diverse audience groups – such as vision, intellectual impairment, etc. In fact, funding is currently being sought within the European sphere for the initiation of a specialist programme for people with visual impairments.

A major innovation within this project has also been to include a much debated and controversial element of our national heritage – that pertaining to the Islamic presence on the Islands between 871 – 1249AD.

It is the first time that this period is being represented officially within a didactic environment, highlighting not only the discoveries made but also the politics of archaeology that have not allowed us to discover more of this unique archaeological inheritance. It has been presented stratigraphically within the context of this site together with Roman artefacts revealing the continual use of the same area for distinct functions – city life and life after death.

The project’s first phase not only bridged the gap between these two archaeological periods on the site but also that between diverse organisations.

More importantly, it narrowed the gap between different societies of the past and the present, especially with regard to target audience groups such as people with special needs and minority groups, such as the community of Maltese who are devout followers of Islam and who have never seen this archaeological inheritance made accessible, least of all made them partake in our national heritage.

Although phase one of this project has reached completion, Heritage Malta is now embarking on phase two which will see the conservation of the mosaics as well as further archaeological investigative studies on the external stratigraphy present within the site. These will enable us to learn more on the technological applications utilised in Malta and the techniques in the construction of the mosaics and will also provide us with a better understanding of the city of Melite, from the remaining ruins. Funds for the conservation studies have already partially been acquired thanks to the UNESCO commission in Malta, while the archaeological studies are awaiting approval via the European ERDF grant programme for 2007-2013.

Suzannah Depasquale – Senior Curator Archaeology

Article provided by Heritage Malta.