‘Developers Are Destroying Pre-Ġgantija Remains In Gozo,’ Environmental NGO Claims
The Santa Verna Temple in Xagħra, Gozo, an area where pre-Ġgantija remains were found in the course of construction works, “is being destroyed,” according to NGO Flimkien Għal Ambient Aħjar (FAA)
Despite many reports by the organisation, as well as many Xagħra residents, FAA are claiming that excavation works continued unbated, despite the unearthing of bones during construction for housing developments, findings substantiated by “undeniable photographic evidence.”
According to the NGO, while investigating the matter, journalist Victor P. Borg obtained a Superintendence of Cultural Heritage (SCH) report which has allegedly, “not been passed on to the Planning Authority or the public”.
The report revealed that an investigation was carried out by the SCH in May and June 2023, unveiling a “burial pit” from the “temple period,” housing seven skulls laid out in a deliberate manner, with some positioned within fractured skulls. This arrangement suggests intentional and ceremonial use of the site in prehistoric times.
Despite these findings, “no action is being taken by the SCH to protect the whole area,” the NGO claimed, adding that it will be joining forces with the Xagħra residents “in demanding the issuance of an emergency conservation order to enable the study of all the area, including the material in the caves.”
According to the organisation, “the official archaeologists entrusted with monitoring the building site did not report the prehistoric remains, and as a result, findings were bulldozed without a trace, and the works caused the collapse of the roof of one of the caves.”
“In 2013 a PC (PC040/2013) application for re-zoning of the area in preparation for this large building project was approved, also based on erroneous reporting that the area was not archaeologically rich,” FAA said.
The organisation went on to reveal that the “latest application in the area is for a row of 11 residences built over four floors by developed Thomas Grech, a manager of PRA Construction Ltd, a company owned by Joseph Portelli and two of his Gozitan partners”.
FAA stressed the importance of the suspension of all works “until professional archaeological excavations are carried out and that a thorough inquiry should be carried out to investigate this cover-up.”
“It is outrageous that evidence for the earliest history of human occupation on the islands should be destroyed in order to build yet more apartment blocks to enrich developers and ruin Gozo,” the NGO stated.
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