Sarcophagus of the acting governor of Malta is being rebuilt through the support of BOV
A sarcophagus, built on the grave of Colonel Henry Anderson Morshead, is being rebuilt from scratch after careful research by the Artna Heritage Foundation through the support of the Bank of Valletta.
Morshead was a colonel commandant of the Royal Engineers and acting lieutenant governor in Malta when he died on November 11, 1831. He was given a public funeral and buried in the Saluting Battery of the Upper Barracca Gardens in the prescribed manner. by the British after theirs. establishment in Malta in the 1800s – where important public figures were buried on headlands on the walls of Valletta.
A fine classical Greek sarcophagus was built over his tomb by his wife. The work was done by Maltese sculptors using local stones. The monuments survived until 1960 when, for some unknown reason, the upper part was removed, leaving only the lower level and its stepped platform. The removed part has been lost.
With the aim of restoring what is left of this monument and to rebuild its missing part, Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna has researched the history of the tomb and also the life of the person for whom it was erected.
Our heritage is a major source of our identity
With this in mind, a full-scale architectural model was built, a plaster version of the original. This serves the purpose of establishing the correct proportions and fine architectural details and will serve as a model for the builder and sculptor to reconstruct the missing part of the monument in stone.
The maquette, which can withstand the weather, was unveiled by Mario Farrugia, executive chairman of the Wirt Artna Foundation, and Charles Azzopardi, head, CSR Department at the Bank of Valletta, during the commemoration ceremony of Jum the Armistice held at the Saluting Battery on November 11, which coincides. with the date when Morshead died.
“The maquette will provide the public with the opportunity to visualize how it was originally and complete the appearance of the Saluting Battery,” said Farrugia.
“Thanks to the support of BOV, we have been able to do in-depth research on the monument and Morshead, and these will be published in book form to continue raising funds for the complete reconstruction of the monument.”
Azzopardi added: “At the Bank of Valletta, we fully believe in the important role we play in the Maltese community and we are always looking at ways to improve our corporate social responsibility.
“Our heritage is a major source of our identity, and we work to support projects that preserve our heritage for future generations. We take this opportunity to publicly thank Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna for its active role in this sector.”
BOV supports various projects for the benefit of society through its environmental, social and governance commitments.
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