Response to rebuttal by Grima et al. elaborating on misleading conclusion in paper on “Pollution monitoring for sea salt aerosols at Hagar Qim : a pilot study” concerning salt decay after sheltering an archaeological site in Malta

Abstract

The purpose of our review article was to give a balanced and comprehensive overview of the research con ducted to date by various contributors, regarding the shelters installed over three of the Megalithic Temples of Malta, their performance, and lessons learnt, which may be useful in other contexts where comparable challenges are being considered. We will shortly be marking the first decade since the installation of the first two shelters. We therefore consider it useful and timely to examine how far research on the evaluation of the effects of the shelters has come, what preliminary indications have been drawn, whether these stand up to scrutiny, and what gaps in the research remain to be addressed.