Contrasting the 1957 Aerial Survey and the 1896–1927 Joint Ordnance Survey
Schedule
Wed, 28 Jan, 2026 at 06:30 pm
UTC+01:00Location
36 Old Treasury Street, VLT1410 Valletta, Malta | Valletta, MA
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Join us for the fourth lecture in our new series: Contrasting the 1957 Aerial Survey and the 1896–1927 Joint Ordnance Survey: Shoreline Change Appraisal as a Catalyst for Historical Research by Christopher Gauci and Daniel Fenech.
LECTURE 4 // 28-01-2026
'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 explores historical 1:2500 maps of Malta produced by the Public Works Department (PWD) in collaboration with the British Ordnance Survey in the period between 1896–1927 and a separate series dated to 1957. Early research by the PWD examined the two series to understand their value in understanding shoreline changes. To compare them, the two series (1896–1927 and 1957) had to be digitised and aligned, within a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) environment. The study found several limitations, including drawing inaccuracies, missing shoreline indicators, and no known geographic reference system. Despite this, the two-map series matched overall, with most differences being attributed to developments in infrastructure, likely through aerial revisions of the existing Joint Ordnance Survey (1896–1927) series. Only a few changes appear to relate to the natural landscape, which merit further study.
Christopher Gauci has been employed as a geologist with the Policy Research Directorate, within the Public Works Department for the past six years. He graduated in 2015 with a B.Sc. (Hons.) in Earth Systems from the University of Malta, and a year afterwards graduated with a M.Sc. in Exploration Field Geology from the University College Cork, Ireland.
Daniel Fenech holds a B.Sc. (Hons.) in Earth Systems and a M.Sc. Physical Oceanography, with dissertations on the statistical verification of numerical weather models and spatial prioritisation of Martine Protect Area (MPA105) respectively. He is the current systems administrator for the Public Works Department’s GIS platforms. At the Policy Research Directorate, Daniel Fenech is the lead on the GIS component of the digitalisation of the Records and Archives and the Joint Ordnance Survey 1896–1927 project.
All lectures start at 18.30hrs. Free entrance. No booking required. For more info email [email protected] and check out our lecture series flyer: https://issuu.com/nationallibraryofmalta/docs/ml_pl_-_landscapes_in_paper_place_a5_booklet
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36 Old Treasury Street, VLT1410 Valletta, Malta, Valletta, MaltaEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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