Shelters over the megalithic temples of Malta : debate, design and implementation

Abstract

The Maltese Megalithic Temples, constructed between the mid-fourth and mid-third millennia BC, are unique and are amongst the oldest stone buildings of such complexity in the world. They are of great local and international significance, embodying symbolic, educational and recreational values. These Temples are currently suffering from a series of severe problems associated with the deterioration of materials as well as structural problems, seen in a number of serious collapses in recent years. In 2000, it was decided that these vulnerable prehistoric structures needed to be protected from the direct impact of environmental factors by means of a temporary, open-sided shelter, conceived as a large parasol designed to be as light as possible, in visual as well as in physical terms. The erection of two of these shelters took place during 2008–2009. The performance of the shelters is currently being assessed by environmental monitoring which already indicates an improvement in conditions beneath the shelters when compared to conditions on site before sheltering.