The Dump

Beneath the staircase is the dump used by successive residents for centuries. Pottery, stone artefacts and coins recovered from it date from the Phoenician era till the mid-16th century.

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Sealed at the dawn of the Great Siege 1565 it was reopened by the Vellas in 1997. Among other items recovered were bones of sheep, poultry and fish, sea shells, sea urchins, pumice, and grape seeds. The bones analysed at the University of London found even the presence of a dog’s bone: a sign of pet domestication. Carbon-dating was not possible due to the expenses incurred at that time.The closure of the dump in 1565 indicates that the residents disposed of some ceramic items which they thought the enemy could use against the population seeking refuge behind the newly built Birgu fortification. The Grand Master ordered such measures to minimise the materials availability for the invading Ottomans in battle. From the Great Siege till the arrival of the Vella’s the dump remained blocked. This may be a sign that the residents who blocked the dump did not return to their home once the siege was over, as they either fled to nearby Sicily or ended among the victims of the skirmishes at Bormla or within Birgu. Some artefacts recovered from the dump are exhibited in the museum.

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