Bir Mula Heritage (House Museum)

 

​​Bir Mula Heritage is a historical house located on St Margherita Hill in Bormla known also as Cospicua. In 1997 it was converted into a museum by the Vella family. The site rendered many artefacts amongst which a palaeolithic projectile, red ochre, chert tools, Neolithic sling stones, bones of animals and marine creatures forming part of the nutrition of the residents, stone works and pottery. The site and the building were uninterruptedly used since time immemorial. The oldest part, an old farmhouse, is over 1000 years old and was remodelled during the Arab period (870 - 1091). The house witnesses to the development of Maltese houses: from a rural farmhouse to a late 16th century urban palazzino. Most graffiti found on walls show ancient script, maritime symbols and vessels spanning from the Genoese period (12th - 14th century) till the 19th century. A unique graffito shows an Ottoman archer (Solak) who was on guard at the house during the Great Siege of 1565. Other graffiti link the house to the presence of the Knights Templar and the presence of Hospitaller Grand Masters (1530-1572). The use of the house for conspiracies led to the ransacking and setting on fire by the Napoleonic French (1798-1800). The different spaces and rooms were used for different purposes by the resident family and their servants. Myths linked to the house narrate events from the natural world and others linked to the paranormal: some of which were also caught on camera. In collaboration with Kottonera Foundation.