Arx Newsletter Jan-March 2012

FROM THE

webmaster

Welcome to the new 2012 issue of the MilitaryArchitecture. com newsletter with its new look and format.

Both the www.militaryarchitecture.com website and our online journal ARX have seen a continuous and steady rise in readership worldwide, with considerable interest coming from the United States of America.

This year more emphasis will be placed on the publication of detailed studies on Maltese fortificatins in the form of Occasional Papers. The first in this series is a 72-page monograph on Fort Tigne’ which was published online earlier this year. The next to be issued during the course of 2012 will be a study on the Order’s gunpowder magazines, entitled Polveriste – the storage of gunpowder in Hospitaller Malta, and another on Wignacourt’s coastal towers entitled In Defence of the Coast. Also currently under preparation are a number of new researched articles on, amongst other things, the origins and design of Fort San Salvador, a retrenched work on the Cottonera Lines (Malta); on Francesco Laparelli’s design of the Valletta bastion known as SS Peter and Paul Bastion, and its little known early history in Hospitaller times, which bastion later came to be more popularly referred to as the Upper Barracca and the Saluting Battery (Malta); and on the Hospitaller fortress of Tripoli in Libya.

From this year onwards ARX will now also be available on CD-ROM as a PDF publication with embedded flash videos.

These CDs are now also available for viewing at the National Library of Malta in Valletta, at the University of Malta Library, and at International Institute of Baroque Studies, where readers can also order a free copy of the CD-ROMs. Bona fide researchers and educational instituations outside Malta wishing to acquire copies of ARX on CD-ROMs can e-mail us with the request on info@militaryarchitecture.com .

This year MilitaryArchitecture.com is planning to organize, in collaboration with the Malta Historical Society, a combined lecture and tour of Fort Tigné. Details of date and time of the event will be advertized in due course.

We take this opportunity to invite researchers to publish their papers on military architecture, fortification, and the conservation of fortifications on www.militaryarchitecture.com and ARX and benefit from our vast world-wide readership.

John Spiteri Gingell - Webmaster

1/2012

discoveries

Medieval Coat of Arms discovered at Mdina

A unique medieval ashlar block of stone bearing the coat of arms of Guglielmo Murina has been recently brought to light in the old city of Mdina, Malta. This unique escutcheon, which dates back to the late fourteenth century, was accidentally discovered in the course of the ongoing restoration works on the fortifications of the ancient historic fortified city of Mdina that are being partly-financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF 039). The small block of stone, measuring some 28 cms high by some 20 cms wide, bears the coat of arms of Guglielmo Murina, who was Governor of the island in 1372 and also keeper of the Castrum Maris (the later Fort St Angelo). The coat of arms depicts a shield bearing three undulating vertical lines, representing three eels (murina = ‘eel’ in Italian), enveloped by acanthus foliage that appears to have formed part of a larger panoply.

The escutcheon was found incorporated into the revetment of an artillery platform erected on D’Homedes Bastion during the early eighteenth century. The stone block was evidently cannibalized from some nearby medieval building and re-utilized in the re-modification of the bastion by the Knights of St John.

READ MORE AT: http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/News/medievalcoat-of-arms-discovered-at-mdina.html

Sally-Port unearthed in Vittoriosa

A late seventeenth-century sally-port has recently been brought to light in Vittoriosa (Birgu), the fortified maritime city of the Knights of Malta. The postern was unearthed during the course of the ongoing restoration works on the fortifications that are being partly-financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund. The removal of the modern rubble from within the narrow ditch enveloping the outer faces and flanks of the counterguard, known as Couvre Porte, has exposed a small sally-port in the left flank of the said counterguard. This narrow ‘advanced ditch’ was filled-in with rubble and earth in the course of the early decades of the twentieth century so as to widen the pedestrian areas around the outer faces of the counterguard, thereby robbing the ramparts of their real height and imposing mass. READ MORE AT: http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/News/sally-port-unearthed-in-vittoriosa. html

Remains of Battery discovered in Flank of St. Michael Demi-Bastion, Valetta

The remains of a hitherto undocumented wall of what appears to have been a low flanking battery (piazza bassa) in the left flank of St. Michael Demi-Bastion was unearthed by the Restoration Directorate in the course of the restoraton works on the Valletta fortifications currently underway as part of the European Regional Development Fund project (ERDF 039). The wall, which still contains a small embrasure, was hidden beneath a mound of earth and debris, and the remains of later British-period boundary wall. This battery appears to have contained a small sally-port which provided access to the main sally-port in the curtain wall.

READ MORE AT: http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/Conservation/ flanking-battery-discovered-in-valletta-ditch.html

researched papers

Fort TIGNÉ

A detailed 72-page study of the design and construction of the Hospitaller knights’ last and most modern work of fortification in Malta. The monograph explores the influence of the Jean Eleonore Le Michaud d’Arcon and his lunette on Fort Tigné and its designer, the French military engneer, Antoine-Etienne de Tousard. Fully illustrated with plans, drawings, and 3D computer reconstructions and videos. This study can be read both as an online article and in PDF format (ARX Occasional papers 1/2011). Author: Dr Stephen C. Spiteri; READ MORE AT: http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/Journals/arxoccasional-papers-fort-tigne-1792.html

VALPERGA’s fort

A paper exploring the design of a work of fortification proposed by the Italian military engineer Antonio Maurizio Valperga for the defence of Marsamxett Harbour as part of his master scheme commissioned by Grand Master Nicholas Cotoner in 1670. This monograph seeks to recreate the fort based on existing cartographic evidence and Valperga’s own reports. Fully illustrated with plans, drawings and 3D computer reconstructions and video. Author: Dr Stephen C. Spiteri.

READ MORE AT: http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/Building-Methods/valpergas-fort-on-the-isoletto.html

Fort MOSTA

An article examining the military architecture aspects influencing the design, layout, and construction of this Victorian period land fort situated north of the village of Mosta in Malta. The fort was situated along a natural defensive fault cutting across the centre of the island - a defensive position that later came to be known as the Victoria Lines. Fully illustrated with plans, drawings, and 3D computer reconstructions and video Author: Dr Stephen C. Spiteri.

READ MORE AT: http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/Fortifications/fort-mosta.html

militaryarchitecture.com newsletter February 2012

orthcoming publication

by

Dr. Stephen C Spiteri Ph.D.

militaryarchitecture.com newsletter February 2012

ARX Occasional Papers 2/2012 This is a detailed and fully-illustrated study of ALL the

gunpowder magazines (Polveriste / Magazzins a’ Poudre) and gunpowder factories built and used by the Knights of St John in the Maltese islands. The paper also examines the gunpowder storage arrangements and facilities employed by the Knights within the Order’s organizational military set-up and the various ordinances and regulations which were laid down for the proper and efficient management of this important military resource. The study is based on Hospitaller records in the archives of the Order of St John and is a continuation of original research first published by the author in the book Armoury of the Knights (Malta, 2003).

This monograh also examines the role of the Commander of Artillery, who was knight delegated by the Order’s Council with the responsbility for the management of all the gunpowder magazines as well as the various armouries for the storage of weapons, and the other munitions stores.

This publication will be featured also as a PDF document with embedded video animation and will be available on CD-ROM from www.militaryarchitecture.com.

forthcoming papers

militaryarchitecture.com newsletter February 2012

Wignacourt’s TOWERS A detailed paper examining the influences and design history of the large coastal towers built during the reign of Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt in the early decades of the 1600s. Fully illustrated with plans, drawings, and 3D computer reconstructions.

Fort San SALVADOR A detailed paper examining the origins and design history of the retrenched bastion known as the San Salvador (or Salvatore) Bastion, built by French military engineers in the early decades of the eighteenth century to strenghten the incomplete and problematic enceinte known as the Cottonera Lines, Malta. Fully illustrated with plans, drawings, and 3D computer reconstructions.

The RED CASTLE of Tripoli A detailed paper examining the liitle-known history of the Hospitaller fortress of Tripoli, in Libya, during the period of Knights occupationin 1530-1551. Illustrated with plans, drawings, and 3D computer reconstructions.

Malta Historical Society

The is organizing a one-off public lecture and tour of Fort Tigné, Malta, by Dr. Stephen C. Spiteri Ph.D. as part of its programme of cultural activities for 2012. The date and time of the event are still to be determined and will be advertized on www.militaryarchitecture.com and the local media in due course.

Fort Tigné is one of the most important

works of military architecture built by the Hospitaller knights in the Maltese island in the late eighteenth century and has been recently restored

by Midi plc, together with Fort Manoel. A detailed monograph on Fort Tigne’ by Dr. Spiteri has recently been published on www. militaryarchitecture.com. Copies of the PDF version of this monograph will be available after the lecture.

militaryarchitecture.com newsletter February 2012

militaryarchitecture.com newsletter February 2012 The Rise of the Anti-clockwise Newel Stair

A fascinating study of the origins of the spiral stair employed in European medieval castles. READ MORE AT: http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/BuildingMethods/the-rise-of-the-anti-clockwise-newel-stair.html

The Reuse of Monumental Masonry

A study of the widespread practice of ancient fortress builder’s reuse of masonry from earlier buildings examining sites in Britain, the Gaulish provinces, Germany, and northern Spain. READ MORE AT: http://www. militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/Building-Methods/thereuse-of-monumental-masonry.html

Military Architecture in Islam

READ MORE AT: http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/Building-Methods/military-architecture-in-islam. html

Transposition of cultural systems and Military technology of fortified landscapes.

new links articles

An international workshop that aims to define the strategies related to the acquisition and management of data, useful for the study and knowledge of cultural property.

The workshop will deal with the complex management of the large amount of data that can be achieved with current technologies and the use of such data for the construction of virtual models.

The deadline for contributions to the conference expires on the 15 March 2012. Communication should be addressed to: fortressesconference@gmail.com The web site of the conference is: http://www.fortconference.globeit.it

Fortifications and Enclosures in European Prehistory

An interesting article that reviews recent research into the archaeological interpretation and investigation of fortifications and enclosures during the Neolithic and Bronze Age in Europe.

READ MORE AT: http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/Resources/fortications-and-enclosures-in-european-prehistory.html

The Corner of the Horn

A monograph on the celebrated site known as the Leaded Magazine (Kurşunlu Mahzen) in İstanbul: the former Fort of Galata of Byzantine Constantinople and the Subterranean Mosque (Yeraltı Cami) of the presentday. From a typical early Byzantine defensive structure to a bastion arsenal on the Genoese fortifications, the building functioned as the northern corner of the legendary chain closing off the natural harbour of the Golden Horn. READ MORE AT: http://www.militaryarchitecture. com/index.php/Resources/the-corner-of-the-horn.html

Qal’at al-Bahrain

A feature on the architecture and archaeology of the Islamic/Portuguese defensive building which crowns the site of the most important archaeological location of the Bahrain archipelago. READ MORE AT: http://www. militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/Conservation/qalat-albahrain.html

100-TON Gun Batteries of Gibraltar & Malta

militaryarchitecture.com newsletter February 2012

Part I of a detailed study by Dr Stephen C Spiteri Ph.D. that takes a closer look at the military architecture of the fortified structures that were built to house the 100-ton Armstrong guns employed in the coastal defence of the British naval stations of Gibraltar and Malta. Fully-illustrated with diagrams, photographs, plans and 3D computer animated reconstructions of Napier of Magdala Battery (Gibraltar), and Cambridge Battery and Rinella Battery in Malta.

READ MORE AT: http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/BuildingMethods/military-architecture-of-the-100-ton-gun-batteries.html

ARX can be read online at www.militaryarchitecture.com. ARX is now also available at the National Library of Malta, The University of Malta Library, and the International Institute of Baroque Studies, University of Malta.

Limited quantities of CD-ROMs with the PDF-version of all issues of ARX (with embedded flash videos of 3D computer animations) are also available to bona fide researchers and educational institutions directly from www.militaryarchitecture.com on enquiry.