Tal-Barrani

A niche of the Annunciation of Our Lady lies on Tal-Barrani Road.

Tal-Barrani is a primarily agricultural area in Malta that extends from the town of Żejtun to the villages of Santa Luċija, Ħal Tarxien and Ħal Għaxaq, lying across many south-eastern communities in Malta. The land gives its name to a nearby chapel dedicated to Saint Lucy.[1] In a notarial document dating from the 16th century, the area near this estate was known as bitalbarrani, that is, the stranger's or outsider's land.[2] This name may indicate that the land under cultivation at Tal-Barrani belonged to some outsider, either someone from outside a village community, or a foreigner. Moreover, the same land contained another area which was called Tal-Misilmin (land of the Muslims).[2][A] At least from the 17th century onwards, Tal-Barrani was a recognised agricultural estate, and was documented in the 1654 property book of the Order of St. John, the Cabreo Magisteriale.[3]

In the 1960s, a depot for Malta's milk collection system was built at Tal-Barrani.[4][5] In October 1965, while constructing the depot, a number of archaeological remains were found in the middle of the building site.[6] The site was later demolished, and a private hospital was built, leading to the finding of further tombs in 2008 and 2009. A Late Roman and Byzantine catacomb and a tomb were discovered and excavated in 1993, closer to Żejtun.[7]

Tal-Barrani is an important transportation link in the south-eastern part of the island, with a major road cutting the area in half. The existing road consists of a dual carriageway of two northbound and two southbound lanes separated by a central reserve.[8] A€20 million road project is being proposed to divert traffic between Tal-Barrani Road and Vjal Santa Luċija via tunnels.[9]

Tal-Barrani was the site of political violence on 30 November 1986,[10] when a group of people, some wearing balaclavas, began hurling stones and bottles on an approaching group of political activists. The clashes erupted with the appearance of members of the police's Special Mobile Unit, who fired teargas canisters and rubber bullets onto the crowd, and mayhem ensued.[11]

  1. ^ "GXQ S Lucija tal-Barrani". Kappelli Maltin. Archived from the original on 7 March 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  2. ^ a b Wettinger, Godfrey. "Some grammatical characteristics of the place-names of Malta and Gozo in early modern times". Journal of Maltese Studies. 15: 31–68.
  3. ^ The Żejtun Villa and its ancient landscape – Three new archaeological discoveries (PDF). 2012. pp. 60–73. Archived from the original on 16 March 2019.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ "Malta". The Parliamentarian: Journal of the Parliaments of the Commonwealth. 48. General Council of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association: 177. 1967.
  5. ^ The Malta Year Book. St. Julian's Malta. 1968. p. 171.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ Sagona, Claudia (2002). The Archaeology of Punic Malta. Peeters Press. p. 1144. ISBN 9789042909175.
  7. ^ "Bad and good examples of protecting our priceless heritage". The Malta Independent Online. 7 October 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  8. ^ Debono, James (7 September 2018). "Addolorata and tal-Barrani road works will see loss of 14,589 sqm of agricultural land". MaltaToday. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  9. ^ "Tunnels planned for Santa Luċija roundabout". Times of Malta. 2 April 2018. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  10. ^ Spiteri, Sharon (6 November 2002). "Flashback to Tal-Barrani riots in 1986". Times of Malta. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  11. ^ Vassalo, Raphael (1 December 2006). "The Malta Independent Online". Archived from the original on 2 March 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2019.