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A rubble wall, or as it is more familiarly known in Malta as “Hajt tas-sejjieh”, is one built entirely or mainly without the use of cement or mortar; it relies for its strength and durability on the skilful placing of stones so that each one is locked securely in place. No one who has walked through the countryside can have failed to notice the part that rubble walls play in the agricultural economy. Many, however, accept them as a quaint addition to the rural scene without asking what the walls are doing there. They are so common and characteristic of the local rural scene that they are taken for granted. Only a few people might realize the expertise in this primitive type of wall structure. In order to construct successfully a strong and rigid rubble wall certain important procedures should be adopted and followed. The type of tools and the building material necessary are also important.
The tools required are very few. These include a pick to break up any hard surface although this is rarely desired. It is used more as a supplement to the important spade when digging for foundations. The space is also used to clear away and shovel up unwanted soil. Another tool very commonly employed is a sort of hatchet known locally as “Imterqa tal-inkulmar”. This is a walling hammer about 30cms long with two edges, one for rough shaping and the other for dressing the stone.
Rubble walls are built by experts in this type of masonry work. It would not be wrong to call it a craft – another instance of Maltese heritage. This craft has been handed down from father to son, from one generation to another since time immemorial. Rubble walls are normally constructed out of units of stone which are found in fields or which have fallen off other rubble walls – “gebel tax-xaghri”. These stones are of the harder coralline variety and have withstood the forces of the elements for a very long time. They are normally used to separate one piece of land or field from another, to act as a boundary wall between lanes, alleys and fields, and to terrace the fields or slopes. These walls are built of an outer leaf and an inner leaf with a layer of “mazkan” in the middle. This layer gives additional strength to the wall and it is important that this consists of tightly packed small pieces of stone. Without this layer the face stones will have a tendency to settle inwards and the rubble wall will collapse. If a part of the wall collapses however, one might imagine that the whole wall should follow. If one looks carefully at a rubble wall one notices that it is constructed out of “V” s locally known as “posta” and “gwienah”. Therefore if a “posta” collapses the adjacent one will not collapse because it is not directly connected to it. Separating the adjacent “posti” is a layer of stones known as wings or “gwienah”.
It is interesting to note that rubble walls in the South of Malta are different from the North because the southern part is a comparative lowland with only a few hills, so that rubble walls are not as numerous as in the northern part of the island. Terracing is often not needed. Gozo, which is very hilly with a great number of fields, has a lot of rubble walls terracing its slopes. Also, steps are built in some of the walls and this is less common in Malta.
Rubble walls have a story to tell. They speak of local geology, geography and history. In order to trace the history of these types of walls in Malta, one could start with the prehistoric period and work one’s way to the present day. Nowadays rubble walls are being used in a number of buildings throughout the Maltese towns and villages as a decorative feature since they create a pleasant and less rigid appearance to any form of walling.
“Rubble Walls” was the title of my dissertation presented to the University of Malta: Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering, 1989. I must confess that when I was asked to write about rubble walls, initially I felt reluctant to comply fearing that the subject matter would not be appealing generally. Besides, what could I find to tell about these crude walls! On second thoughts, however, I took up the challenge and wholeheartedly tackled the subject. It proved to be astoundingly interesting and so much material was revealed about these most primitive structures.
Architect Elizabeth Ellul
(Authoress of the book “Il-Hitan Tas-Sejjieh” sponsored by the BICC and published by Klabb Kotba Maltin).
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