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  • Malta – Northern Region – Mosta – Ta’ Bistra Catacombs

    It’s not the grandest entrance to a museum that I’ve ever seen, but that’s because they’ve taken over a former farmhouse. The museum has the second largest set of catacombs in Malta, the largest being those at St. Paul’s. There was a friendly welcome from the staff member at the entrance and I also get the impression that this isn’t the most visited site that Heritage Malta operate.

    The section of the catacombs is the other side of the road to the farmhouse and it was thought that the road building had destroyed a chunk of the site. However, all was well, the engineers either hadn’t bothered to dig down very far or they carefully avoided the catacombs (likely the former) and they had just put the road over the top in the 1930s.

    The first part of the site is where visitors can enter the catacombs themselves, something better for shorter people than taller people. This section is located underneath the former farmhouse and the catacombs were repurposed as animal pens.

    These catacombs felt much drier than the ones at St. Paul’s, which all seemed to be quite damp.

    This is how much of the site is presented now, but it would have once likely have been on the edge of a valley side.

    The triclinium, where relatives of the dead would have a final meal.

    This is where they think that the Romans were cutting stone to use in building projects, but just didn’t get any further at this particular point.

    This apparently is where the fortunate body was given their own drinks stand, in the hole behind the two headrests.

    One of the few blocking stones which was still in place when they completed the archaeological dig. Interestingly when they completed an archaeological dig relatively recently, they found entire sections which had been missed at what they thought were comprehensive excavations in 1933.

    Although this site isn’t as extensive as St. Paul’s, it’s better explained with numerous informational panels. There’s also a short introduction video, but otherwise very little in the way of exhibits. The extra challenge has been in trying to explain the damage done to the site when it was re-used, particularly the farmers who turned sections into animal pens. At least though the road didn’t destroy much history, so there’s plenty to see at the site.

  • Mount Etna

    I wouldn’t have noticed this, but the pilot pointed out it on the flight from Malta to London Gatwick. It’s Mount Etna and there’s some smoke visible as well.

  • Malta – Northern Region – Mosta – Valley

    Just a photo of the valley which is at the entrance to the town of Mosta. As a scale, Mosta is the third largest town in Malta with a population of around 20,000 people, less than twice the population size of the metropolis that is North Walsham in Norfolk.

  • Malta – Northern Region – Mosta – Southern Fried Chicken

    I was inspired to have fried chicken having seen the Kentish Fried Chicken outlet, and nearby is an outlet from this British chain. Southern Fried Chicken is not particularly Maltese, well – other than being in Malta, and it is seems to be in a growing number of countries throughout the world.

    The service was helpful and friendly, so everything seemed welcoming. There seemed to be a lot of options to choose from as well, but it was all clearly priced.

    The interior was clean and had quite a modern and contemporary feel to it.

    As chicken burgers go, this was excellent. The chicken had lots of flavour in the coating, the meat was tender and this combined to have an enjoyable taste. The bun was fresh, mayo and ketchup were supplied free of charge and everything was hot.

    OK, so it might not be a beautiful platter of Maltese locally sourced food, but it was reasonably priced at just over £5 and tasted of a decent quality. It’s also well reviewed, unlike the nearby KFC, which I didn’t bother visiting.

  • Malta – Northern Region – Mosta – Kentish Fried Chicken

    An interesting name, but apparently this is a slightly iconic location to many residents of Malta….

  • Malta – Northern Region – Mdina – St. Paul’s Catacombs (Museum)

    I posted separately about my visit to the St. Paul’s Catacombs, but there is also an interesting museum at the site which gives an introduction to the catacombs. The above map shows the complexity of the site, with visitors entering at the top right, exploring the first catacombs and then crossing over the road before visiting the others.

    Known as the Valeria Inscription, this dates to the fourth to eighth century AD. It was found in 1875 and is one of the oldest inscriptions at the site, although that’s primarily as they haven’t found that many. It reads “Fufica Galena and Curtius Diadoumenos, husband and wife erected this tomb for the well deserving Valeria”.

    What I like about this is that the main part of the inscription mentions who paid for it, which does seem to make sense. If you’re going to a lot of expense, then it seems right that you should get the main mention.

    Part of the catacombs were visible under the glass floor, but there was a little problem that some of this was covered in dirty footprints and the like. This bit was clearer, although it was difficult to know what I was supposed to be looking at.

    The smaller skeleton has a sad story insomuch it’s not known whether this baby had been born or not when it died. There were a large number of skeletons found of children, an unfortunate reality of the number of youngsters who didn’t survive. It’s not clear when the individual died, but it’s thought to be from the Phoenician period.

    This skeleton belongs to a man who was buried at the site between the fourth and second centuries BC. He was aged around 60, which was a comparatively high age for the period, and he apparently suffered from severe arthritis and a spur on one rib.

    An example of how a burial would have taken place.

    The museum was an interesting and useful start to the tour, although it didn’t cover the site in quite as much detail as I’d have ideally liked. However, the displays were presented in an accessible and informative manner, and I liked how one family managed to contain the excitement of their two children who wanted to go down the holes and instead they explained to them the meaning of what there was to see before the kids rushed off.

  • Malta – Northern Region – Mosta – Cannon

    I can’t find out what period this cannon dates to, but it takes pride of place outside of Mosta Rotunda.

  • Malta – Northern Region – Mosta – World War Two Tunnels

    During the Second World War, there were more bombs dropped on Malta than there were on London, so there was a need for every resident to have access to a shelter whilst the bombings went on. Mosta has recently opened up the shelters located under the town’s main square, in front of the Mosta Rotunda.

    The main tunnel has some information panels along its length.

    I hadn’t realised that Winston Churchill had visited Valletta in 1943, which must have been a relatively dangerous mission.

    There were four exits to the shelters, this is one of them which is now sealed off.

    One of the areas not accessible to the public. Well, it probably technically was as there was nothing stopping anyone exploring, but they’d have to stoop heavily or crawl, or just be short.

    A recreated bedroom area.

    The tunnels aren’t particularly large in size, but they were sufficient to protect the residents from the bombings which were taking place above. There was a joint admission charge of €3 for the Rotunda, or the town’s main church, and these tunnels, which was reasonable. I did try to work out where the other exits were on the main square, but that search was both a bit half-hearted and also entirely unsuccessful.

  • Malta – Twistees

    These crisps, available in a few flavours such as bacon, cheese, BBQ and chicken, are produced on the islands and appear to be one of the most common snacks which are available. Apparently they’re also widely exported from Malta, although I’ve never seen them before.

    At any rate, they’re excellent, very like Nik Naks…..

  • Malta – Northern Region – Mdina – Old Signage

    An old sign on one of the streets in Mdina.