Malta’s Superintendent for Cultural Heritage approved the burial of 3,000+ year old cart ruts as part of new roadworks near the airport in Luqa.

Infrastructure Malta confirmed the detail in comments provided to Lovin Malta in the wake of media reports and social posts on the issue.

“Allegations that any important historic features that merit conservation are being destroyed during the implementation of these projects are untrue,” a spokesperson told Lovin Malta.

The spokesperson insisted that photos of the cleaned rock surfaces on the site confirmed that the authority is following taking all the necessary measures to safeguard Malta’s cultural heritage.

“Archaeologists approved and answerable to the Superintendence monitor the implementation of such projects and when features of interest are uncovered, they set in motion an established procedure to bring them to the attention of the Superintendence and to study them carefully,” he said.

“In the case of discoveries during excavations, this process includes securing the site and carefully uncovering and documenting them. The Superintendence specifies the excavation method that the archaeologists would need to adopt to remove and inspect the rest of the soil and other materials, and the underlying rock surface, where the features of interest are identified.”

Once the studies were completed, the Superintendence authorised Infrastructure to cover the rock surfaces with an appropriate layer of geotextile fabric for additional protection, so that the findings can be safely reburied beneath the new cycle lane, without damaging them.

This, Infrastructure Malta said, means that they will still be preserved for future generations, with detailed studies and 3D scans available for future studies as well.

This is not the first time that the Superintendent approved the practice. A similar incident occurred when cart ruts were discovered during works being done in Attard for the Central Link Project.

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