Ghajnsielem Local Council has recently started excavations works on the site that hosted the historic ‘Ghajn tal-Hasselin’ in the heart of the Apparition Square or as is better known, the ‘Pjazza tad-Dehra.’ The Local Council is restoring this historic arcade by building as close as possible an exact replica of the original building.

During the excavation works, which are being carried out under the strict supervision of an an archaeologist from the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, the discovery was made of part of the original walls including the back and side wall and part of the flooring of the original ‘Ghajn tal-Hasselin.’ They were still intact and in their original state. An opening leading to a World War II shelter was also found on the same site.

This ‘Ghajn tal-Hasselin’ was built by Grandmaster Ramon Perellos in 1710 and was taken down in 1953. TheGhajnsielem Mayor, Francis Cauchi said that due to these discoveries, a detailed report had been submiteed by the on-site archaeologist and the excavation works have now been stopped. The Council is now awaiting a no-objection report from the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage on the best way forward to continue construction while preserving the current remains.

It was in this square that ‘Ghajn Salem,’ the spring that gave its name to the village, used to flow. It was also near this spring that an arcade and six stone washing basins were built by Grand Master Raymond Perellos for the increasing population of Ghajnsielem, where they gathered and formed the community as it is known today.

For over two centuries, from dawn onwards the area around the spring was thronged with chattering woman who congregated there in the mornings washing their laundry in the troughs, while the meny whiled away some of the hot and sunny afternoons under the canopy of the mulberry trees. Rare where the occasions where the spring remained idle. But to maintain hygiene in such a place was a problem. Less and less care was taken to the washing area and in the latter years of its existent, the arcade was left in a state of reckless abandon, the whole place stinking with filth until its removal in the early 1950′s to make way for a new square.