I welcome the news that the Mnajdra and Hagar Qim temples will be finally be covered with sizeable tents, and that this will happen by the end of next year (TMID, 29 March).

Such a project has been long in the making, but finally we are getting there.

The temples have been exposed to the elements for more than a century and a half, and this has naturally taken its toll. By covering them with tents, they will be getting the protection necessary to make them last much longer than they would if they are left in the open.

I was recently in Cyprus and there they have taken the same precautions to protect their open-air monuments. These have been covered by tents as will happen to Hagar Qim and Mnajdra – they still maintain their natural, historical and archaeological beauty, but are now getting the necessary protection that will enable future generations to continue to enjoy them.

Let us hope that the promises will now be kept.

David Borg

Sliema