The Birgu peninsula in prehistoric and classical times

Abstract

Of the five sedimentary layers that constitute the characteristic geological formation of the Maltese islands only the lower two survive in the eastern half of Malta, the softer Globigerina limestone -which has provided for thousands of years a source of excellent, easy to shape, building stone -on top of the harder Lower Coralline limestone which outcrops in limited areas. The low, gently sloping, north coastline of this eastern half of the island is indented in a most conspicuous way by the two adjacent harbours, the Grand Harbour and Marsamxett Harbour, the two being separated by the Valletta peninsula. Birgu, together with Fort St Angelo, occupies one of the tongues of land that project from the eastern side of the Grand Harbour in the direction of Valletta. The bedrock of this promontory is Globigerina although beyond it to the east Coralline limestone outcrops in a strip that extends northwards towards the coast.