The walls close in on both sides, tall and smooth, with the sky reduced to a long blue slot overhead. That is the first impression of Birgu Ditch: you are standing at the bottom of a defensive trench that was dug to stop an enemy reaching the town, and the bastions above you were meant to make that journey fatal.
Why the ditch exists
At the beginning of the 16th century the Knights Hospitaller lost Rhodes and moved to Malta. They made Birgu the Order’s capital because its position suited their navy, and they began to build defensive fortifications around the Grand Harbour. During construction, a wide main ditch was cut between the St John and St James bastions, containing a casemated battery. In 1565 the defences had to withstand the violent attacks of the Ottoman army in the Great Siege of Malta. After the siege the Order moved to the new city of Valletta, and the old lines lost their central importance.
Rebuilt and rediscovered
Birgu’s fortifications were rebuilt in the 18th century, and the main ditch was spanned by a large caponier, a fortified structure set inside a ditch from which defenders could fire along its length. It was rediscovered during the restoration of the fortifications that began in 2008 and is still in progress. The ditch reopened to the public in January 2016, and the site is an attraction of this small but famous city that many visitors have not yet reached.
What you can walk
Comfortable walkways lead between the walls to the refurbished casemated battery and the caponier, as well as to an old sally-port running down towards the nearby village of Kalkara. A sally-port is a small gate from which defenders could leave the fortress unseen. Walking through gives a real sense of the thickness of the masonry and the way the gun positions were set to cover every angle of the ditch.
Interpretation panels along the route, designed in a short, plain style, explain what each element was for. They are useful, because a ditch without explanation looks like an empty trench, while one with labels turns into a lesson in military engineering.
Shelter and mine galleries
Along the walls you will see many openings. Several were used by civilians during the Second World War as shelter from bombing; Birgu and the surrounding harbour towns were among the most heavily attacked areas on the island. Some of the entrances date much further back, to the time of the Knights, when a countermine gallery was located here. Countermines were tunnels dug to meet and destroy an attacker’s mine under the walls, so these small doorways cover almost four centuries of danger.
Practical points
The surfaces are mostly good but uneven in places, so wear shoes with a grip. The ditch is open to the sky, which means little shade in summer; mornings and late afternoons are far more comfortable. Parts of the fortifications are still being restored, so access to individual sections can change. Ask at the tourist information point in Birgu if you want to be certain.
Reading the walls
Look up as well as ahead. The stone of the bastions is the same honey-coloured Maltese limestone used across the island, but weathering, repairs and later additions show up as patches of different colour and texture. The 16th-century work, the 18th-century rebuilding and the modern restoration sit side by side, and the panels help to tell them apart.
Notice also how the ditch is shaped. It is not a simple trench; the angles of the walls and the position of the caponier were designed so that anyone entering would be under fire from several directions. That kind of geometry is easy to miss from the top of the walls and obvious from the bottom, which is the best argument for walking it rather than looking at it from a street.
Photographers will find that the narrow slot of sky gives strong contrast around midday, while early morning and late afternoon throw long shadows along the walls. The light inside the casemates is dim, so a phone torch or a camera that copes with low light is useful.
Making a day of Birgu
The ditch is a short stop, so combine it with the rest of the town. The Inquisitor’s Palace, the Malta at War Museum and the Malta Maritime Museum are all within walking distance. The waterfront is a good place for lunch, and the narrow streets are pleasant to wander without a plan.
A good order is to start early at the ditch, move on to a museum while it is hot, and take the harbour ferry back to Valletta in the late afternoon. From the water you can see the same bastions from outside, which helps to explain why the Knights believed they were safe behind them.
