Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1159832
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 25 AUGUST 2019 9 CULTURE ready been transformed into arable land. The site was archaeologically inves- tigated for the first time by Capt C. Zammit in 1933 as part of the docu- mentation process of four sets of bur- ials that were meant to be destroyed by a new road leading to Burmarrad. Ta' Bistra came back into the spot- light in 2004, when archaeological monitoring during road works re- discovered the four groups that were supposedly removed in 1933. This discovery eventually culmi- nated in extensive archaeological excavations between 2013 and 2014. Three lamps were unearthed during the latter excavations which are now exhibited on site. Bones are usually expected to be found in large quantities in tombs. However, in 1933, very few bones were uncovered and all disintegrated upon excavation. Remarkably, a skull which is now also exhibited at Ta' Bistra, was re- putedly recovered from this area and was donated to Heritage Malta by Dr Joseph H Vincenti M.D. Sqd Leader RAF (Retrd.) in 2014. Ironically, this place of death is said to have served also to protect the liv- ing when it was used as an air-raid shelter during the Second World War. If you can assist to recover more of the past of Ta' Bistra Catacombs and its surrounding area, Heritage Malta is eagerly inviting you to share your narratives, objects and old photos of the area. Such collective memory will make it possible to truly understand Ta' Bis- tra, not just as an archaeological site, but also as a cultural landscape with a meaning in the lives of those who grew around it. More information available at www.heritagemalta.org Ta' Bistra Catacombs Photos by Heritage Malta, National Museum of Archaeology One of the faces engraved by Indrí at Ta' Bistra Catacombs The skull donated to Heritage Malta by Dr Joseph H Vincenti M.D. Sentinels at Ta' Bistra Catacombs