The megalithic temples of Mnajdra and Hagar Qim are expected to be covered with sizeable tents by the end of 2008 to protect them.
Reuben Grima, senior curator of World Heritage Sites, said the project has been entrusted to an Italian contractor who will manufacture these large fabric tents off-site. Other work is presently under way but is being done as discreetly as possible so as not to disturb visitors until the project has been completed.
The decision to install protective shelters was taken in 2000 following extensive studies by a team of experts on the problems threatening the megalithic monuments.
The protective shelters are designed as a temporary measure with an expected lifetime of between 25 and 30 years.
Dr Grima said that after the international call for designs, a design submitted by a Swiss national was chosen and the contract has now been awarded to an Italian company. Meanwhile, Heritage Malta has commenced work on the creation of a new visitor centre for the temples.
The conservation of the temples has long been an issue as the incomplete structures are made of vulnerable materials and exposed to major internal and external causes of deterioration, especially with direct rainfall and solar radiation. The Mnajdra Neolithic temple was the target of vandals in April 2001, when around 60 of its megaliths were pushed to the ground and some of them were broken.
Dr Grima explained that the Hagar Qim and Mnajdra temples were especially vulnerable because of their location close to the sea and exposed to the elements. Moreover, they are built in soft globigerina limestone which as time passed continued to deteriorate. The two temples, going back to prehistory, were excavated in 1839 and 1840.
He said the visitor centre would be built on two floors and would include a cafeteria, sanitary facilities (which until today did not exist) and an audiovisual centre so that visitors could be given an audiovisual presentation before seeing the actual temples. This presentation is planned to be as modern as possible with the least possible words. The total floor space of the visitor centre is around 900 square metres.
The project will cost a total of Lm1.8 million. Sixty-three per cent of the cost will be covered by the European Union’s structural funds and co-financed by the EU’s Regional Development Fund.
The rest has to be funded by the Maltese government.
Asked whether the sites would be closed while work is under way, Dr Grima replied in the affirmative. He said Heritage Malta has informed tourist operators not to include a visit to the sites in their itinerary between July this year and December 2008 just in case the site is closed for short spans during this period. When asked, he said works were “perfectly on schedule”.