Saint Mary's Battery ( mt, Batterija ta' Santa Marija), also known as Comino Battery ( mt, Batterija ta' Kemmuna), is an

artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to fa ...

on the island of

Comino Comino ( mt, Kemmuna) is a small island of the Maltese archipelago between the islands of Malta and Gozo in the Mediterranean Sea, measuring in area. Named after the cumin seed, the island has a permanent population of only two residents and i ...

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 built by the

Order of Saint John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

between 1715 and 1716 as one of a series of coastal fortifications around the coasts of the Maltese Islands.

History

Saint Mary's Battery was built in 1715–1716 to protect the South Comino Channel, in conjunction with

Wied Musa Battery Wied Musa Battery ( mt, Batterija ta' Wied Musa), also known as Swatar Battery ( mt, Batterija tas-Swatar), is a former artillery battery in Marfa, limits of Mellieħa, Malta. It was built by the Order of Saint John in 1714–1716 as one of a seri ...

on mainland Malta. Construction of the battery cost a total of 1018 scudi. It has a semi-circular gun platform ringed by a parapet with eight embrasures facing the sea. The battery has a single blockhouse, where the ammunition was stored. This was placed diagonally along the land front so that its two outer faces functioned as a

redan Redan (a French word for "projection", "salient") is a feature of fortifications. It is a work in a V-shaped salient angle towards an expected attack. It can be made from earthworks or other material. The redan developed from the lunette, ...

. The land front also contains musketry loopholes. The battery was originally armed with two 24-pounder and four 6-pounder iron cannons, but it was abandoned by 1770. Prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, a Gozitan family lived in the battery. It was eventually abandoned, and a

fig tree ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending i ...

grew over the main entrance. A few of the battery's cannons were dragged into the gorge beneath the battery, in an attempt to take them to a foundry for smelting. The two 24-pounders were left lying inside the battery since these were too heavy to cart away.

Present day

Unlike many similar coastal fortifications, the battery remained in a fair state of preservation, mainly due to its remote location. It was restored by

Din l-Art Ħelwa () is a non-governmental and non-profit, voluntary organisation founded in 1965 by Maltese Judge Maurice Caruana Curran to safeguard Malta's cultural heritage and natural environment. Since its foundation, Din l-Art Ħelwa has restored numerous ...

between 1996 and 1997, and again between 2003 and 2004. During restoration, the roof of the blockhouse which was in danger of collapsing was repaired. On 21 August 1997, a joint operation was carried out by the

Armed Forces of Malta The Armed Forces of Malta ( mt, Forzi Armati ta' Malta) is the name given to the combined armed services of Malta. The AFM is a brigade sized organisation consisting of a headquarters and three separate battalions, with minimal air and naval ...

and the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

, in which a helicopter from HMS ''Illustrious'' and Maltese soldiers retrieved the cannons from the gorge and transported them back to the battery. Reproductions of gun carriages were made, and the cannons were mounted on them once again. The battery is now open to the public all year round.

References

External links

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
{{Batteries in Malta Batteries in Malta Hospitaller fortifications in Malta Comino Military installations established in 1715 Limestone buildings in Malta National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands 18th-century fortifications 1715 establishments in Malta 18th Century military history of Malta

History

Present day

See also

References

External links