Mur Lura
The Hypogeum Conservation Project
PR1516
01/10/1996
01/10/1996
| The complex conservation project under way at the Hal-Saflieni | Hypogeum has now reached a critical stage. Seven roads in Paola are being dug up to replace part of the town's 100-year-old water and drainage infrastructure after research showed that drastic action would have to be taken to prevent water seepage damaging the prehistoric burial complex. Water leakage from nearby houses and drainage systems has been identified as a main cause of damage to the Hypogeum. |
| The replacement of the utilities' networks is a collaborative | effort by Enemalta Corporation, the Water Services Corporation and the Drainage Department. The works, which will replace water and drainage pipes to some 200 houses in the vicinity of the Hypogeum, should be completed within few months. The Museums Department has held liaison meetings with Paola Local Council to ensure residents are informed about the operations and their importance to the entire conservation project. |
| Some inconvenience is of course inevitable. But staff at the Museum | of Archaeology say that although the trenching works may at present be causing some congestion in Paola's roads, it is a small price to pay for the preservation of over five millenia of Maltese history. |
| The trenching is costing some Lm200,000 and accounts for a | substantial portion of the Hypogeum project's budget; this fact alone demonstrates the importance and urgency of the current works to the overall conservation project. The trenching is essential to ensure the survival of this unique World Heritage Site for the enjoyment of present and future generations. |
| The Hypogeum was closed to visitors in 1991 to allow comprehensive | research and monitoring before sensitive, conservation plans could be drawn up and implemented. Extensive damage had been caused to the prehistoric ochre rock paintings by water seepage, as well as by carbon dioxide emissions from visitors. Closed-circuit TV cameras were inserted into the water and drainage pipes confirming faulty joints and erosion as one of the main sources of water seepage into the chambers. The resulting damp also poses a further danger as it contributes to growth of algae on the rock surfaces. |
| The current works are only one of numerous measures being taken to | conserve the Hypogeum. A multinational team of experts has identified the need to control the micro-climate of the Hypogeum and create a modern visitors' centre to ensure controlled access to the site. Their recommendations form the basis of the vast conservation project in progress. |
| A steel and glass structure has already been erected to create a | buffer zone to regulate the Hypogeum's micro-climate and the installation of an air-conditioning system is currently nearing completion. Visitor walkways are also being installed to prevent further erosion of the delicate limestone floors. Due to the fragility of the site, access will be restricted to a maximum of 300 visitors a day, who may enter the site in groups of not more than ten. The Museums Department will be consulting its partners at the NTOM and in the tourism sector to ensure plans for visitor access operate as smoothly as possible with a minimum of impact on the monument. |
| The Hypogeum is a unique site, with its own particular set of | conservation problems which constantly need to be addressed and rectified. An archaeological site is not just "done up". A long term approach and constant monitoring of the site is needed in order to ensure the long-term preservation of one of Malta's finest national treasures. |
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