Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/98148
Title: | Industrial heritage of water infrastructure in the Maltese Islands |
Other Titles: | Stati generali del patrimonio industrial 2022 |
Authors: | Ghirlando, Robert Borg, Ruben Paul |
Keywords: | Malta -- History Malta -- Description and travel Industries -- Malta -- History Infrastructure (Economics) -- Malta -- History Waterworks -- Malta -- History Aqueducts -- Malta Water -- Distribution |
Issue Date: | 2022 |
Publisher: | Marsilio Editori |
Citation: | Ghirlando, R., & Borg, R. P. (2022). Industrial heritage of water infrastructure in the Maltese Islands. In E. Curra, M. Docci, C. Menichelli, M. Russo & L. Severi (Eds), Stati generali del patrimonio industrial 2022 (4.2.3). Venice: Marsilio Editori. |
Abstract: | The Maltese Islands, situated in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea have in the past depended almost exclusively on rainfall for the provision of water. With an average annual rainfall of 553mm, dry and rainless summers, and very few natural springs, the inhabitants of these islands resorted to water harvesting and storage as well as pumping water from the aquifers, which are replenished by rainwater percolating through the islands’ porous limestone formation. This gave rise to rock-cut cisterns and reservoirs for storing water, galleries for collecting it, aqueducts and rock-cut channels, and pumping systems driven by beast, wind and diesel engine. Desalination of sea-water, now the main source of water, was also resorted to in the past, but of these distillation plants, only the buildings remain. The paper reviews the rich industrial heritage of the key structures and machinery which survive and in some cases are still in use, as well as the challenges in conservation, with reference to the assessment and restoration of key structures based on advanced engineering solutions. |
URI: | https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/98148 |
ISBN: | 9788829716661 |
Appears in Collections: | Scholarly Works - FacBenCPM |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Industrial_heritage_of_water_infrastructure_in_the_Maltese_Islands_2022.pdf Restricted Access | 1.76 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open Request a copy |
Items in OAR@UM are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.