The cluster includes six interconnected pillars, organised into two complementary research domains. This division is based on their thematic focus, lines of research, and methodological approaches.
Pillars 1, 2, and 6 share a common emphasis on the historical, cultural, and contextual dimensions of heritage, which include the examination of archival resources and heritage within its larger spatial and cultural setting. As a result, a specialized Research Support Officer supports these pillars whose role manages research activities across this interconnected domain.
Pillars 3, 4, and 5 are distinguished by a stronger emphasis on the material, environmental, scientific, and technological dimensions of heritage research. The analysis and characterization of heritage materials, the study of connections between heritage and environmental conditions, and the application of digital and computational approaches to heritage recording and interpretation are all included in their shared methodological viewpoint. These pillars are consequently supported by a separate Research Support Officer with expertise aligned to this research domain.
This division acknowledges the different types of expertise, analytical techniques, and research infrastructure needed within each domain while reflecting the complementarity of research themes and methodology throughout the cluster. The two domains remain interconnected, allowing for interdisciplinary exchange between contextual and material approaches to heritage research.
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The MEGALITH project addresses the environmental degradation of Malta’s prehistoric megalithic temples, particularly focusing on the Mnajdra temple. These temples, some of the oldest free-standing structures in the world, have faced continuous exposure to harsh environmental conditions, contributing to their deterioration. This is especially true when considering that they are located in shoreline environment with high exposure to winds and salts. The project seeks to advance scientific understanding of the environmental conditions that prevail within the temple structure.
The project required a multi-disciplinary approach ranging computational modelling, artificial intelligence, conservation and materials science. The environmental conditions within the temple were modelled and validated by means of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). This is very computationally intensive technique and long term degradation processes cannot be predicted in a sufficiently small amount of time. Hence, artificial intelligence models are trained on data generated by CFD simulations and weather data from local meteorological stations to predict how wind and other weather patterns will affect the structures over time.
In addition to its scientific contributions, MEGALITH also addresses broader societal and cultural concerns. The protection and preservation of the megalithic temples are of significant national and international importance, as they are a UNESCO World Heritage site. Through this project, the methodology that has been created can also be utilised, in principle, with other historical sites. The project’s dissemination and communication campaign has also led to a number of conference publications and a journal publication which is in progress.
MEGALITH is a multi-disciplinary project involving academics within the Department of Environmental Design and the Department of Conservation and Built Heritage from the Faculty for the Built Environment, and the Department of Artificial Intelligence from the Faculty of ICT. It is also supported by Heritage Malta.
The principal investigator is Prof. Ing. Daniel Micallef while Prof. JoAnn Cassar and Prof. Joel Azzopardi are project partners. The project is also supported by the participation of existing research support officers Ms Rosangela Faieta and Ms Amani Mezzi.