Ħamrija Tower (), originally known as ''Torre della Pietra Nigra'' () and also known locally as ''Torri ta' Rsejjen'', is a small

watchtower A watchtower or guardtower (also spelt watch tower, guard tower) is a type of military/paramilitary or policiary tower used for guarding an area. Sometimes fortified, and armed with heavy weaponry, especially historically, the structures are ...

Qrendi Qrendi () is a village in the Western Region, Malta, Western Region of Malta, with a population of 3,148 people as of October 2021. It is located close to Mqabba, Żurrieq and Siġġiewi. Within its boundaries are the two Neolithic temples of ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. It was completed in 1659 as the twelfth of the

De Redin towers The De Redin Towers () 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), mainland Malta to act as watchto ...

. The tower was restored by

Heritage Malta Heritage 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 (along with the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage) replaced ...

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, which is part of

Siġġiewi Siġġiewi ( ), also called by its title Città Ferdinand, is a city and a local council in the Western Region of Malta. It is the third largest council in Malta by surface area, after Rabat and Mellieħa. Siġġiewi is situated on a plateau ...

, and Wied iż-Żurrieq, which is part of

. From the tower, one can see

Filfla Filfla is a mostly barren, uninhabited islet south of Malta (island), Malta, and is the most southerly point of the Maltese Islands, Maltese Archipelago. Filflu (or Filfluu), a rocky islet some southwest of Filfla,

. The tower is located a few hundred metres from two

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

temple sites,

Mnajdra Mnajdra () 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 Megalithic ...

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 religio ...

, 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 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