Join us for the third lecture in our new series: 'Malta’s Hidden Springs and other water sources: Unearthing Late
Medieval and Early Modern Water Technology via Cabreo documentation' by Keith Buhagiar.
LECTURE 3 // 17-12-2025
'Landscapes in Paper and Place: Rethinking geo-spaces through Malta’s Cabrei and Country Maps' - The 8th edition of the National Library of Malta's Public Lecture Series, coordinated by Mevrick Spiteri, Daniel Borg, and André P. DeBattista, in collaboration with the Public Works Department.
This lecture examines hydrology-related documentation found in cabrei from the Knights’ period in Malta and Gozo. Cabrei, which are collections of maps and descriptive texts detailing specific land parcels, are crucial for understanding historical agricultural and hydrological landscapes. The data for this lecture is drawn primarily from 17th and 18th century Treasury Series B cabrei, specifically Cabreo del Magistero volumes 289, 290, and 291. These documents, compiled by periti agrimensori, offer scaled plans and descriptions of features such as cisterns, wells, and springs, often differentiating between irrigated and non-irrigated land. The analysis, supported by modern survey sheets and field investigations, illuminates water management practices and land use during the Knights’ period, highlighting the impact of qanat-type water systems on agricultural properties in north and northwest Malta.
Keith Buhagiar holds a PhD in archaeology specialising in landscape research in Malta and Sicily, hydrology, cave-settlements, and churches, with a focus on the medieval and early modern period. He lectures in Paleochristian and medieval archaeology at the Department of Classics and Archaeology, University of Malta. His research interests include geology, water systems in the central Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Near East, as well as human-induced landscape transformation, and Mediterranean settlement patterns. He has published widely, including Malta and Water (AD 900 to 1900): Irrigating a semi-arid landscape (BAR/Hadrian, 2016)
All lectures start at 18.30hrs. Free entrance. No booking required. For more info email
ZXZlbnRzICEgbGlicmFyeSB8IGdvdiAhIG10 and check out our lecture series flyer:
https://issuu.com/.../ml_pl_-_landscapes_in_paper_place...
