Activists have called for an “immediate” emergency conservation order to be issued on the prehistoric Santa Verna temple in Xagħra, Gozo after a parliamentary petition was launched earlier this week.
Speaking at an activity at the archaeological site on Saturday afternoon which was attended by several activists, ADPD chairperson Sandra Gauci insisted the protection zone for Santa Verna must be extended.
She also urged for a detailed study of the site and independent archaeological monitoring of the developers.
Gauci was leading an Archaeology Awareness Walk near the Santa Verna Temple on Saturday together with a number of activists and NGOs days after a parliamentary petition was launched pushing for urgent protection for the archaeological landscape around the prehistoric temple site.
They warned that construction in the area is threatening invaluable heritage, including the remains of children recently found in a Neolithic tomb. At least 18 houses, swimming pools, and two roads are understood to be slated to be built on the site.
Gauci decried the loss of heritage sites for the sake of greed and development urging Gozitans not to allow the island to become “a smaller scale copy of Malta”.
“You are going to lose your soul just as we did. They are going to strip you of your identity. You are going to look in the mirror and you will not recognise what makes you Gozitan,” the ADPD chairperson said.
Speaking at the event, Momentum chairperson Arnold Cassola accused the government of “turning a blind eye to the bulldozing of the archaeological remains.”
“This short term economic gain for a selected few is risking destroying the potential for a much higher long term economic and cultural gain for the community,” Cassola said.
He added that “the potential for niche archaeological tourism in the area is unlimited” as he pointed at the “millions” that places like Ggantija Temples have generated for the Gozitan economy.