"Rabat: outside the city walls." a Rabat Travel Page by leics

I've just revisited Rabat, in the August heat. When I first went, three years ago, St Agatha's catacombs were closed and I really wanted to see them (and their little museum).

Rabat is not touristy. It's 'ordinary' Malta, I think. But its two sets of catacombs make the walk from Mdina (maybe 10 minutes, if you walk slowly)more than worthwhile.

Rabat (which means 'suburb' in Arabic) begins at the edge of Mdina and once formed part of the Roman city of Melita. The two 'villages' were originally one, until a moat and new fortifications were created during Arab rule. There is some surviing evidence of how Malta functioned under Roman rule, such as salt-pans (some remain near Xemxija) and the baths excavated at Ghajn Tuffieha (not open to the public). Rabat itself was walled, but I could find no evidence of any remaining masonry (the wall cut across what is now the main town square).

I do like catacombs. I didn't know this until I first went to Rome, but I really do like them. Probably because they are mainly untouched.....they generally remain in the state they were when originally dug (minus bones, obviously). So they feel more 'real' than many archaeological and historical sites. Or maybe I'm just weird.

There are actually hundreds of catacombs all over Malta; too little fertile soil to waste on burying the dead, I suspect. Both of the catacombs in Rabat are Christian (4th to 7th centuries), although the practice of burying the dead outside the city walls is very much a Roman one. As is the practice of celebrating and remembering the dead by having a feast; in the catacombs a convenient 'agape' table has been carved out of the limestone specifically for this purpose (remember the Romans liked to recline when eating). In above-ground graveyards some Roman tombs had libation pipes, through which wine was poured so the dead could join in the feast too.

The smaller tomb-slots in the walls were, of course, for children; makes one realise how often the death of a child must have occurred. Makes one think.

Neither set of catacombs is deep. They are extensive rather than going down through several levels, as those in Rome do. The archaeologist who took me round St Agatha's thinks this is because there were, quite simply, never enough people to bury: Malta has always had a small population.

St Paul's were used as an air-raid shelter in the Second World War, and you can explore quite a lot of them. St Agatha's is much smaller (the part open to the public) and you can only visit them with a guide. The rather wonderful Medieval and Roman frescoes are simply too fragile and too easily damaged by the moisture of human breath and sweat, so tour s are limited.

There is a small display of found artefacts at St Paul's , but St Agatha's has a rather wonderful museum full of all sorts of things. From artefacts and skeletons found in the catacombs to fossils to minerals to Ancient Egyptian grave art to 20th century Christian art and artefacts. Even a mummified crocodile! I really enjoyed exploring this extremely eclectic and rather eccentric collection....see the travelogue below.

Having visited the two sets of catacombs I allowed myself a beer in the square, and then a wander around the back streets of what is really rather a quiet little place. Some lovely narrow streets (clearly still set on their Medieval layout), one or two bits of interesting architecture (nice to find a Green Man again, even though I suspect his meaning was not fully understood by the mason).

Don't just go to Mdina........leave it till last, and explore Rabat a little bit first.