Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1321294
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 DECEMBER 2020 6 40 years ago, UNESCO declared Ġgantija a World Heritage Site ART HERITAGE Malta is celebrat- ing the 40th anniversary since UNESCO declared the Ġgan- tija Temples a World Heritage Site in 1980 – the year that also saw Valletta and the Ħal Sa- flieni Hypogeum being given the same recognition. Heritage Malta's Chief Ex- ecutive Officer, Noel Zam- mit, said that this anniversary is not only important for the prestigious recognition be- stowed upon Ġgantija in itself, but even more for the values that it represents. "The title 'World Heritage Site' has great significance because it is UNESCO's dec- laration that the site is of outstanding importance and represents something unique to humanity, and therefore needs to be protected and pre- served," Zammit said. In 1992, Ġgantija's inscrip- tion in the UNESCO World Heritage Site List was extend- ed to include the Temples of Ħaġar Qim, Mnajdra, Ta' Ħaġrat and Skorba. Collectively, these sites rep- resent a unique architectural tradition that was highly in- novative and accomplished for its time. Beyond the prestige, the title of 'World Heritage Site' comes with a duty to make sound de- cisions to safeguard the integ- rity and authenticity of these unique sites. Heritage Malta honours this commitment by implementing a number of measures which ensure their protection and preservation. At the Ġgantija Temples these include, inter alia, the implementation of a conser- vation plan which requires Heritage Malta's stone con- servators to carry out regular interventions to protect the stone fabric of the site. Heritage Malta has also em- barked on a project which aims to find solutions to im- prove the structural stability of part of the temples' facade. UNESCO has allocated funds to this project, which have been utilised to purchase a set of movement sensors which enable the collection of da- ta that is necessary to inform future decisions on the subse- quent phases of this project.