Għajn Tuffieħa Roman Baths

Situated along the road that from Mġarr leads to Għajn Tuffieħa, these Roman baths were discovered by accident in 1929 when Government workers were digging to pass a conduit to channel fresh water from a perennial spring that runs through the valley (mainly underground). Excavations undertaken both in that same year (1929) and in the following one (1930) confirmed that these were Roman baths of the late first and early second centuries AD. The availability of fresh water – so crucial for any bath complex – from a spring in that area would seem to have been a determining factor in the choice of the site for this bathing complex. Moreover, as suggested by the documented presence of burials in the nearby localities of Żebbiegħ and Mġarr, the area might have not been as deserted as one might get the impression from the way it looks today. Though not yet fully excavated, the complex would seem to have been fairly extensive with a communal latrine that could accommodate no fewer than 12 perso