Għajn Ħadid Tower ( mt, Torri ta' Għajn Ħadid), originally known as ''Torre di Salomone'' and known by locals as Xagħra Tower ( mt, It-Torri tax-Xagħra), is a ruined

watchtower A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to ...

in Selmun, limits of Mellieħa,

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. It was built in 1658 as the first of the

De Redin towers The De Redin Towers ( mt, Torrijiet ta' De Redin) are a series of small coastal watchtowers built in Malta by the Order of Saint John between 1658 and 1659. Thirteen towers were built around the coast of mainland Malta, eight of which still surv ...

. The tower has been in ruins since its upper floor collapsed in an earthquake in 1856.

History

Għajn Ħadid Tower was the first De Redin tower to be built, and was constructed between March and May 1658. The total cost of construction was 529 scudi, 2 tari and 8 uqija. It was built on a cliff face overlooking Mġiebaħ Bay, having views of l-Aħrax tal-Mellieħa,

Comino Comino ( mt, Kemmuna) is a small island of the Maltese archipelago between the islands of Malta and Gozo in the Mediterranean Sea, measuring in area. Named after the cumin seed, the island has a permanent population of only two residents and ...

Gozo Gozo (, ), Maltese: ''Għawdex'' () and in antiquity known as Gaulos ( xpu, 𐤂𐤅𐤋, ; grc, Γαῦλος, Gaúlos), is an island in the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After ...

St. Paul's Bay St. Paul's Bay ( mt, San Pawl il-Baħar) is a town in the Northern Region of Malta, sixteen kilometres () northwest of the capital Valletta. Saint Paul's Bay is the largest town in the Northern Region and the seat of the Northern Regional Comm ...

and

Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq is an urban village in Malta situated between the limits of Madliena, Magħtab, Għargħur and Pembroke. The area is situated at the mouth of the island's longest valley called 'Wied il-Kbir'. The name ''Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq' ...

. The design of the tower was based on the

Sciuta Tower Sciuta Tower ( mt, Torri ta' Xuta), also known as Sciutu Tower ( mt, Torri ta' Xutu) or Wied iż-Żurrieq Tower ( mt, Torri ta' Wied iż-Żurrieq), is a small watchtower in Qrendi, Malta. It was completed in 1638 as the fifth of the Lascaris towe ...

, which had been built in 1638 in Wied iż-Żurrieq. It had a square plan with two floors and a turret on the roof, with the entrance being a doorway located on the first floor, that could only be reached by a retractable ladder. The design continued to be used for all the other De Redin towers in Malta. According to a 1743 report in which all coastal towers were inspected due to the fear of a plague, the tower was armed with two bronze cannons, gun wheels and stock, eighteen cannonballs, fifteen rotolos of gunpowder, four muskets and twelve rotolos of musket balls. It was manned by six people. The area around the tower contains a number of fields with rubble walls that were used to grow crops and house animals. A well dug into solid rock is also found a couple of metres away from the tower. Both the fields and the well were probably used by the militia stationed in the tower since the tower was in a remote location and was difficult to supply. The tower was therefore self-sufficient. A small defensible room pierced by musketry loopholes is located nearby, but it is not known if this predates the tower or if it was built after it. The remains of a small sentry room can also be seen in the area. All these features are unique to Għajn Ħadid Tower.

Collapse

Għajn Ħadid Tower was severely damaged in an earthquake on 12 October 1856, when its upper floor collapsed. Most of the stones were then removed to be used in other buildings, but part of the scarped base still exists. The defensible room near the tower survived the earthquake, and still exists today. Despite the tower's collapse, its ruins are still important as they clearly show elements of the tower's architecture which are not normally visible in the still standing towers. Since the other De Redin towers are almost identical, more information about their construction can be found by studying Għajn Ħadid Tower. The commemorative plaque that was originally on the tower is on public display at a garden in Tas-Salib Square in Mellieħa. The tower's 6-pound cannon was retrieved in 1975 by the Historical Society of Mellieħa, and it is now displayed along with the plaque at the same garden. On the plaque it is written:

References

External links

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghajn Hadid Tower De Redin towers Towers completed in 1658 Buildings and structures demolished in 1856 Collapsed buildings and structures Ruins in Malta Demolished buildings and structures in Malta Mellieħa National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands 1658 establishments in Malta