A day dedicated to Romans and their honey at San Pawl Milqi

On Sunday, 28 October, Heritage Malta is inviting the public to enjoy the various activities which are being organised at the archaeological site of San Pawl Milqi in Burmarrad. Most of the activities will focus on the production, use, and consumption of honey during Roman times and the role of beekeeping. Throughout the day, a number of lectures on honey and olive oil will also be delivered.

The site of San Pawl Milqi is renowned for the most extensive archaeological remains of a Roman villa discovered so far on our islands. Ancient stone equipment found in the villa indicates that this building was used for the production of olive oil. In recent years, Heritage Malta has been dedicating part of this site to beekeeping to produce local honey and other by-products.

Events on the day will take off with brief guided tours of the Roman villa remains. Guided tours in Maltese will take place at 9.30am and 1.30pm, with those in English at 11am and 3.30pm.

At 11.30pm, the first lecture, Perspectives on Olive Cultivations and Processing in Maltese Roman Antiquities, will be presented by Dr Joseph Buhagiar. This will be followed by a lecture at 1pm – Honey Production Through the Ages, delivered by Heritage Malta’s curator Paul Portelli. The last lecture, San Pawl Milqi - Past, Present, Future, will take place at 3pm and will be provided by Heritage Malta’s senior curator, David Cardona. All lectures will be in English.

From 10.30am to 3pm, a stand with a selection of food based on honey and prepared according to ancient Roman recipes, will be available.

This event will include re-enactments by Legio X Fretensis to shed light on the lifestyle dating to the Roman villa’s era. Moreover, Golden Island Ltd will be providing information and demonstrations related to bees and honey in Malta. Honey products will also be available for sale.

Opening hours: 9am till 5pm (last admission at 4.30pm)

Admission at €2 per person. Heritage Malta members enter for free.