Rock Tomb at Ghajn Qajjet, near Rabat, Malta

Abstract

On the 22nd September, 1950, whilst workmen were digging a trench for the laying of a water main at Ghajn Qajjet, near Rabat, Malta (Malta 2″ Map. Ref. 356247) at a depth of 2 ft. 8 in. below the surface of the road, the burial chamber of a rock-cut tomb was broken into (fig. 1).This chamber (fig. 2), rectangular in plan and with a flat ceiling, measured 12 ft. in length, 10 ft. in width, and 5 ft. 7 in. in height; its long axis ran in a north-easterly direction. A slab of Globigerina limestone (pl. XII), 6 ft. 5 in. long, 5 ft. 8 in. wide, and 5 in. thick, rested horizontally on the floor and was set with two of its sides in contact with the north-east and the south-east walls; owing to the slight inclination of the floor, being higher towards the north-east, it was propped up by roughly dressed small blocks of stone. There was also a cavity, 10 in. in diameter and 6 in. deep, cut in the floor at a distance of 4 in. from the south-west side of the stone slab and quite close to the south-east wall of the chamber.