Tombs..... and other Mellieha, Malta Off The Beaten Path Tips

On one of my maps, I saw a handwritten squiggle: 'rock tombs'. So I had to investigate.

Not signed properly, tucked away, but pre-Christian or perhaps very early Christian (around 0 -100 CE, maybe). Rock tombs, hollowed out from the hillside, set in a small area of limestone pavement and now largely overgrown. Worth finding, and pondering what Malta was actually like when they were carved.

So: walk to the top of the village and get to the roundabout. Take the road to the left by the stone hut (it's signed to Selmun palace and is called Triq Selmun). Walk along it on the hillside (views are good) but keep an eye open for a small, white sign on your left just before a track. This is where the tombs are; you'll have to find them in the foliage. It'll be worth it though; you'll have seen something very ancient that the vast majority of people have ignored.

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These are equally hard to find (perhaps more so). They lie off the road which winds from Mellieha Bay to the main roundabout; not the main road through the village. It's called Triq Lewis Wettinger, so first you have to get yourself there.

About halfway up (or down) on the left (or right) there is a small layby/pullover. Look carefully at the undergrowth and bushes on the hillside directly above and you'll see a small cairn. This lies atop the entrance to a large rock-tomb (again, probably pre- or very early Christian). You'll have to scramble a bit to get to it, and push your way through the bushes. A torch would be a good idea, because you'll see nothing inside without a light (though your camera flash will show a rather large several-person tomb).

And again, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you've seen something very ancient that most people don't even know about.

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You'll have to look for this, because it's rather hidden away at the top of the village. In fact, it was set in a rather unattractive piece of wasteland just beneath the remains of the fort.

The cross was constructed, apparently, to give pilgrims hope on the last leg of their journey to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mellieha. I only found out about its existence from the large (and rather good) map of local 'sights to see' which can be found on Triq Il-Kbira, by the roundabout at the top of the village.

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