A preliminary assessment of the Wignacourt Museum Hypogeum I at Rabat, Malta

Abstract

A hypogeum had long been suspected on one side of the staircase leading to the World War II shelter under the Wignacourt Museum. Under surveillance from the Museums Department (Buhagiar C.M. 2000; 49) and through continuous encouragement from the Curator of the Museum Monsignor John Azzopardi, the Grupp Arkeologiku Malti (GAM) decided to take over the work of partially clearing the hypogeum. The eleventh and thirteenth December 1999 were selected for preliminary work on site, some clearing already being performed on the fifth December by the Qrendi Boy Scout Group. A number of later visits were conducted to finish the preliminary survey of the hypogeum.