Ħamrija Tower ( mt, Torri tal-Ħamrija), originally known as ''Torre della Pietra Nigra'' ( mt, Torri tal-Ħaġra s-Sewda) and also known locally as ''Torri ta' Rsejjen'', is a small

watchtower A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to ...

Qrendi Qrendi ( mt, Il-Qrendi) is a village in the Southern Region of Malta, with a population of 2752 people as of March 2014. It is located close to Mqabba, Żurrieq and Siggiewi. Within its boundaries are two well-known Neolithic temples called ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. It was completed in 1659 as the twelfth of the

De Redin towers The De Redin Towers ( mt, Torrijiet ta' De Redin) are a series of small coastal watchtowers built in Malta by the Knights Hospitaller, Order of Saint John between 1658 and 1659. Thirteen towers were built around the coast of Malta (island), mainl ...

. The tower was restored by

Heritage Malta Heritage Malta ( mt, Patrimonju Malta) is the Maltese national agency for museums, conservation practice and cultural heritage. Created by the Cultural Heritage Act, enacted in 2002, the national agency replaced the former Museums Department. Or ...

and it is now in good condition.

History

Ħamrija Tower was built in 1659 on a cliff on the southwestern coast of Malta, on the site of a medieval watch post. It is located between

Għar Lapsi Għar Lapsi is a small bay near Siġġiewi, Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is ...

, which is part of

Siġġiewi Siġġiewi ( mt, Is-Siġġiewi, ), also called by its title Città Ferdinand, is a city and a local council in the Southern Region of Malta. It is the third largest council in Malta by surface area, after Rabat and Mellieħa respectively. It i ...

, and Wied iż-Żurrieq, which is part of

. It has excellent views of the island of

Filfla Filfla is a small, mostly barren, uninhabited islet south of Malta, and is the most southerly point of the Maltese Archipelago. ''filflu'' (or ''filfluu''), a small rocky islet some southwest of Filfla,

. The tower is located a few hundred meters from two Neolithic temple sites,

Mnajdra Mnajdra ( mt, L-Imnajdra) is a megalithic temple complex found on the southern coast of the Mediterranean island of Malta. Mnajdra is approximately from the Ħaġar Qim megalithic complex. Mnajdra was built around the fourth millennium BCE; the ...

and

Ħaġar Qim Ħaġar Qim (; "Standing/Worshipping Stones") is a megalithic temple complex found on the Mediterranean island of Malta, dating from the Ġgantija phase (3600-3200 BC). The Megalithic Temples of Malta are among the most ancient religious ...

, although these had not yet been discovered when it was built. The tower's structure is similar to the other De Redin towers, having a square base with two floors. The entrance is on the upper floor, which can be reached by a retractable ladder. The nearest tower in the chain is the Sciutu Tower to the southeast. Ħamrija Tower is the last tower on the southwest coast, so it has no other towers in its line of sight. It was originally armed with a 3-pounder gun and a ½-pounder gun, which were mainly used to signal to the other towers.

Present day

The tower was recently restored and partially rebuilt after parts of its external revetments collapsed. These works involved the reconstruction of the spiral staircase, along with the shaft and parapet. It now forms part of the

and

Archaeological Park, which includes the temples, the tower, a memorial to Sir

Walter Norris Congreve General (United Kingdom), General Sir Walter Norris Congreve, (20 November 1862 – 28 February 1927), was a British Army officer in the Second Boer War and the First World War, and Governor of Malta from 1924 to 1927. He received the Victoria ...

, a visitor centre and the surrounding area.

References

External links

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
De Redin towers Towers completed in 1659 Qrendi National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands 1659 establishments in Malta {{Malta-geo-stub