Ta' Ċieda Tower, also known as San Ġwann Roman Tower, is a Punic-Roman tower in

San Ġwann San Ġwann () is a town in the Northern Region of Malta, with a population of 14,244 as of 2021. Prior to its establishment as a distinct municipality, it was a fragmented community comprising parts of Birkirkara and St. Julian's. San Ġwann e ...

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 ...

. The exact origins of the tower could date back to pre-history with different architecture. It is argued that the tower could be of

Punic The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people who migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' ...

origins rather than

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

but the latter have adapted it. The site of the tower was used as a cemetery, or more, during the Muslim caliphate in the medieval times. Following the expulsion of the Muslims in Malta a church dedicated to St. Helen was built on the site. Today roughly one-third of the tower still stands and is neglected. The tower is one of a chain of towers that were built at their time, probably designed to aid each other from invasion coming from the sea. Eight coastal towers are believed to have existed in

and none on the nearby island of

Gozo Gozo ( ), known in classical antiquity, antiquity as Gaulos, is an island in the Malta#The Maltese archipelago, Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After the Malta Island, island of Malta ...

; six of which are known as the Punic-Roman towers. The remains of rural villa, consisting of a cistern and Roman wall, are found close by.

Name

The name ''Ta' Cieda'' was given in the medieval ages by Christians of which origins is from the devotion to St Helen.Anthony, Luttrell (undated)
"The Capella of Birkirkara: 1402"
. Melitensia. Retrieved 20 January 2016. p. 157.

History

Prehistoric origin

The area of

has been inhabited since pre-historic times and evidence of this are the cart ruts in San Ġwann situated not far from the tower. Excavation have suggested that the tower may have pre-historic origins but archaeologists believe that some rocks may have had

adaptive reuse Adaptive reuse is the reuse of an existing building for a purpose other than that for which it was originally built or designed. It is also known as recycling and conversion. The adaptive reuse of buildings can be a viable alternative to new con ...

. Indeed, the round shape tower suggests that it was built sometimes later as other pre-historic fortification in Malta show different construction of pre-historic defense. A Neolithic/Bronze structure has also been found close by at Wied Ghomor (Ghomor Valley).

Punic and Roman

In 1915 archeologist Thomas Ashbey said that the tower was of Phoenician origins. The tower is generally believed to be a Roman tower, hence the references as ''San Gwann Roman Tower'' or ''Ta' Cieda Roman Tower'' or ''Ta' Cieda Round Tower''. Archeologists, such as Professor A. Bonanno, argue that speaking on the context of the time it is more likely that the tower was built during the Punic period rather than the Roman period as attacks were less likely during the latter. Round tower designs were already established at the time of the Punic period. Indeed, historians hold that the

Maltese archipelago The geography of Malta is dominated by water. Malta is an archipelago of coralline limestone, located in Europe, in the Mediterranean Sea, 81 kilometres south of Sicily, Italy,From Żebbuġ in Malta, coordinates: 36°04'48.2"N 14°15'06.7"E to Cav ...

in the third century was at the aim of

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

and the Romans by invading the native Punic civilisation. Despite these plausible arguments it is also argued that the tower may have been built by the Punic people and then embellished by the Romans. From the findings it is also suggested that the Romans may have built it in the form of a

folly In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...

to overlook the plantation of the olive trees which originate in the area since Roman times. Even if so it is not clearly known as no Roman villas were ever recorded to exist in the area, but Romans did rule the islands for a long period. For instance

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house in the territory of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Nevertheless, the term "Roman villa" generally covers buildings with the common ...

s and Roman buildings were excavated near other Roman towers in the south of Malta such as in Hal Safi and

Żurrieq Żurrieq ( ) is a town in the Western Region of Malta. It is one of the oldest towns in the country, and has a population of 11,823 inhabitants as of March 2014. Żurrieq is one of the 10 parishes to be documented in 1436 and is dedicated to S ...

, and as a chain of towers working together this may be also a plausible argument. In 1960 Doctor

David Trump David Hilary Trump (August 27, 1931 – August 31, 2016) was a British archaeologist known for his work in the area of Maltese prehistory. In 1954, Trump helped John Davies Evans excavate at Ġgantija Ġgantija (; "place of giants") is a meg ...

has brought to the attention of a Roman cistern not far from the tower. This structure is historically important as the use of

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

, that at times is thought to be a modern use, was used by the Romans that does not date to the Punics. This concludes that the origins of the tower is Punic but that the tower was readopted by the Romans. Roman pottery was unearthed and Roman tombs have been excavated and documented.C. Cutajar Tony (2006)
"Neglected heritage in San Gwann"

Times of Malta The ''Times of Malta'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Malta. Founded in 1935, by Lord and Lady Strickland and Lord Strickland's daughter Mabel, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in Malta. It has the widest circu ...

. It has been said that the tower "may have served as a centre point around which one of Malta's more important mediaeval settlements had developed out of late Roman economic activity in the area".C. Cutajar, Tony (2009)
"Neglected heritage sites in San Gwann"

Muslim period

During the Muslim period the area at the tower is known to have at least been used as an Islamic cemetery, one of the early Islamic cemeteries in Malta. The reuse of former building by the Arabs was common as it facilitated effort from cutting rock. Some Punic and Roman building have been discovered to be reused in Malta during the

Islamic caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the enti ...

, this could have possibly included the Ta' Cieda Tower. On site of the tower there were burial ground dating to the Arab period but these stone slabs and other evident Islamic symbol on the islands were eradicated after the expulsion of the Muslims from the lands. However several names of areas in San Gwann are still carrying Arab names.Luttrell, Anthony
"The Capella of Birkirkara: 1402"
, p. 157 (read also footnote 6 and inscription of 'Archivio Vaticano, Reg. Lat. 107, f. 71v-72v (12)' on pages 158-9). Some of the Muslim burial stones are believed to be found at the

saracenic upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Roma ...

burials in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

. Some of the saracenic burial remains are still at present place at the Ta' Cieda Tower.

Christian period

The Islamic cemetery have almost completely disappeared from the site of the tower after the Christian came again to rule the islands. It is documented that close by the Ta' Cieda Tower a church dedicated to St. Helen was built. This church is important in the Roman Catholic Church's history in Malta as it was the first

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

to be built for the parish of

Birkirkara Birkirkara (abbreviated as B'Kara or BKR) is a city in the Eastern Region, Malta, Eastern Region of Malta. It is the second most populous on the Malta (island), island, with 24,356 inhabitants as of 2020. The town consists of five autonomous pari ...

. It is to note that back then, when the parish church was built, the San Gwann lands were all (or most of) part of Birkirkara. The church was named as St. Helen Church, also known as ''Capella di Birchirchara'', built before 1402 and was abandoned in the late 14th century of which no traces remain. The title of the parish church of Birkirkara was transferred to the 'Old Church', namely the Santa Maria Church in Mriehel, Birkirkara. Today Birkirkara's parish church is also dedicated to St. Helen as

St Helen's Basilica St Helen's Basilica () is an 18th-century Roman Catholic church situated in Birkirkara, Malta. It is built on the baroque design by Salvu Borg and built by Mason Domenico Cachia. The design was inspired by, and is similar to, the Mdina Cathedral ...

Modern

The remaining base of the Ta' Ċieda Tower today is in a

dilapidated Dilapidation is a term meaning a destructive event to a building, but more particularly used in the plural in English law for # the waste committed by the incumbent of an ecclesiastical living # the disrepair for which a leasehold estate, tenan ...

state and subject to further deterioration due to vandalism and the growth of

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plants and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular Taxon, taxa, life forms, structure, Spatial ecology, spatial extent, or any other specific Botany, botanic ...

. It is located in ''Triq il-Baruza'' (Il-Baruza Street) surrounded by modern housing estates.

Heritage

The tower has been on a list of protected antiques of the

Malta Environment and Planning Authority The Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA, ) was the national agency responsible for the environment and planning in Malta. It was established to regulate the environment and planning on the Maltese islands of Malta, Gozo and other small ...

(MEPA) since 1932 with amendments in 1935 and 1939, when the area used to be part of

St. Julian's Saint Julian's () is a town in the Eastern Region of Malta. As of 2020, its registered number of inhabitants stands at 13,792. It is situated along the coast, north of the country's capital, Valletta. It is known for tourism-oriented businesse ...

. The San Gwann Local Council has successfully managed to schedule the tower as a national monument (together with other remains), by the

(MEPA), but has failed in addressing its preservation. The site have been an issue of development but because of the protection of the tower this was not permitted. Some of the remains have been used to build rubbles walls on site and the vicinity."Papers of the British School at Rome"
R. Clay and Sons, 1913, p. 123.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ta' Cieda Tower San Ġwann Towers in Malta Archaeological sites in Malta Cemeteries in Malta Church ruins in Malta Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Malta Islam in Malta