It is hot and boy is Dr Gonzi feeling the heat. Political mayhem prevails in Malta and yet our Parliament is in recess while the Nationalist Party desperately tries to stop the leaks prior to a forthcoming election. Is it not a futile exercise that leaves our island state languishing in the realms of uncertainty and instability? I surely think so. However, the present political crisis is amply and ably tackled elsewhere in the local media so I will refrain from further comment.

As I mentioned in my opening sentence, it is hot and summer is well and truly on us, and peaks on 15th August. This is a time when many of us enjoy the outdoor life, late evenings and lazy weekend afternoons by the sea. This notion of summer fun also stems from the long holiday period enjoyed by Maltese students of all ages. Our children and young people enjoy what is an idyllic time, like we had when we did not have a care in the world. Summer is also a time when young people can get caught up in what could be too much fun, leading to alcohol abuse, street fights and other undesirable behaviour. Sometimes, it seems to me that youths in general get a little more bad press than they actually deserve.

A recent visit to a summer event at the University of Malta confirmed my belief that there is much more to Maltese youths than the negativity that is often depicted in the media. The Department of Classics and Archaeology at the University of Malta has been excavating a Roman villa in Zejtun since 2006. When I read that the excavation team were opening the site to the general public, I decided to brave the blazing sun to see for myself this little known fragment of cultural heritage situated in the grounds of St Margaret College − Żejtun Girls’ Secondary School in the heart of my hometown. A board close to the edge of the site informs the visitor that the site was originally discovered in the early 1960s and partially excavated in the early 1970s. This is the seventh year that students, ably led by their professors and lecturers, get to put into practice the theoretical lessons learnt in the classroom during the winter months (which seemed so far away on that hot summer’s day).

Over 20 students participate in this project, starting at seven in the morning and working until four in the afternoon with a short break for lunch. They do this for four weeks during the summer recess. Many of these young people forfeit the opportunity to find summer employment so as to attend the excavation. The level of dedication is summed up by a young man, Joseph from Nadur, who I met on site and who travels from and to Gozo everyday so that he can take part in this important archaeological project. Students and tutors alike spend hours on end patiently peeling away layers of soil and stones to reveal the layout of what seems to have been a vast building that was used for many centuries (this was clearly explained to me by the various people I was introduced to).

Although the university team have a few more seasons of work left on site, the people in charge are already thinking about the future. This summer, a protective structure is being placed over the more sensitive parts of the site to protect them from the elements. This part of the project is being generously supported by the HSBC Foundation as well as by Din l-Art Helwa. The idea and design of the structure were implemented by lecturers and students from the Faculty of the Built Environment at the University of Malta. I was glad to observe such cooperation between the different entities within the university.

One of the questions I kept asking myself was “but what about the future of the site”. It would seem that the answer to this question might lie with a local NGO: Wirt iz-Zejtun (wirtizzejtun.com/). Wirt iz-Zejtun is organising a symposium entitled “The Zejtun Roman Villa – Research, Conservation, Management” in October. A concerted effort is being made to ensure that once the excavation phase of the project is concluded, some form of agreement is reached to ensure that members of the public will be able to access this site for educational purposes.

A future Labour government will ensure that projects related to the management of cultural heritage sites receive the attention they truly deserve. This fits in smoothly with Labour’s vision of cultural heritage being used as an educational tool that makes use of the past to benefit future generations.

Owen Bonnici is the Opposition’s spokesperson on Higher Education, University, Research and Culture