Archaeological Excavations at Cathedral Square, MDINA
06/05/2005

Mdina has once again become the scene of an important archaeological investigation. Archaeological work is currently underway at Cathedral Square in Mdina under the direction of the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage which is revealing previously unknown aspects of this historic town’s ancient history.

Mdina has in fact been an inhabited township since the late Bronze Age and can therefore boast of a three thousand year old history – a rare record even by Mediterranean historical standards. This walled city still holds buried under its streets and residences a wealth of archaeological information which archaeology is steadily helping to understand.
 
The need to carry out the current investigation arose as a result of ongoing paving project in Mdina which came across a stretch of ancient masonry directly in front of the Cathedral parvis. The discovery was notified to the Superintendence, which soon established that the newly uncovered remains consisted of parts of a very extensive ancient monument, possibly dating to the Roman era of Mdina’s past.

The remains uncovered in Cathedral Square consist of a single line of ancient masonry, built of Coralline Limestone blocks each measuring an astonishing 1.5 meters in length and 0.5 meters wide. The wall has been traced for a length of approximately 8 meters. The construction technique of this wall is very similar to other monumental structures dated to the early centuries of Roman domination in Malta, roughly 3rd to 1st cent. BC. However the final assessment of this structure’s date and function will depend on the outcome of the ongoing investigations.

Other features are being identified in the immediate vicinity of these buried remains, possibly dating to the Middle Ages or to the Knight’s period. Present–day Cathedral Square is in fact barely 200 years old. Before that, the area currently covered by the Square was taken up by a series of town houses dating back to the Late Middle Ages, and which remained in use up to the early 19th Century.

These investigations are being directed by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, in collaboration with the Mdina Rehabilitation Committee who is responsible for the paving works in Cathedral Square.