The area around Ta’ Koronja lies above the water table. Thus, the extraction of water from here was important. During the seventeenth century water was used to supplement the Wignacourt aqueduct to take water into Valletta. During the nineteenth century more water had to be extracted and pumped into nearby reservoirs. One of these reservoirs has its walls built to look like field rubble walls, and thus blend in with the rural environment.

This was the first fort to be built along the North-West Front, which was later to be renamed as the Victoria Lines. It started being built in 1875 and was completed three years later. The design of the fort took into consideration the natural escarpment while it was provided with a ditch facing the landward side. Like other British forts of the nineteenth century, within the larger Fort Binġemma there was a smaller, diamond-shaped keep. A drawbridge led into the keep, which was also provided with its separate ditch. The drawbridge would be flanked by musketry loopholes, while caponiers would be built in the ditch.

The Victoria Lines followed the natural escarpment, and this led to the need to the crossing of several valleys. One of these is the Binġemma Valley, and to secure the defensive line a raised passageway was built in the valley. This passageway linked one side of the valley with the other, and soldiers walking on the passageway would be protected by a high parapet facing the valley below. Musketry loopholes were included along this high parapet. Part of the same passageway was hewn in the rock. The passageway built on the valley floor had arches built to allow rainwater to pass through.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, the British military authorities started building and adding fortifications around Malta. Various forts were built and equipped with the latest artillery pieces. A number of forts, an entrenchment and a number of batteries were built in the north-west of Malta, along a natural fault. In 1897 it was then decided to join all these military positions with a continuous entrenchment. These were then called the Victoria Lines, in honour of Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee. The Victoria Lines are 12 km in length, and they follow the natural high escarpment that divides the north-west of Malta into two. Some of the defence was rock-hewn, while musketry loopholes were added where necessary.

Lying amongst the lush vegetation are the ruins of Ta’ Koronja farmhouse, one of a number of farmhouses in the area. One must imagine the agricultural activity that there would have been in the area, when farming families needed to live near their fields due to the distances with the nearby villages. This farmhouse still has a number of interesting architectural rural features. The arches are an example of the ability of the unknown builders. The outside steps lead to the living area, while the ground floor would be used to store agricultural produce and keep the animals.

The building of the new city of Valletta led to the need to provide enough water to its new residents. It was during the time of Grand Master Martino Garzes (1595-1601) that the building of a system to bring water into Valletta was suggested. This did not materialise. Eventually his successor Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt (1601-1622) commissioned Natale Masuccio (c.1561-1619) and the long-awaited project was initiated. The project started by identifying natural springs in the area and had the water channelled towards one large reservoir. Underground tunnels led water towards Attard, but unfortunately Masuccio could not solve the problem of the inclination of the land. A second architect was brought over to Malta, Bontadino dei Bontadini, and this time with the help of Maltese master masons built the aqueduct that finally led water into Valletta in 1615.

In this area known as Għajn Klieb, a cluster of Phoenician-Punic rock-cut tombs were discovered. These overlook the Fiddien Valley. First discovered in 1890, more tombs were subsequently discovered and explored in the following years. One of the most interesting of these tombs was excavated by Sir Themistocles Zammit in 1906, in which he discovered an important Egyptian gold amulet, now exhibited at the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta. The amulet is made up of two figures showing Horus and Anubis, standing back to back and joined together by a ring. This amulet has been dated to the 7th – 6^th century BC. Other tombs in the area provided archaeologists with different types of pottery, helping in the dating of the tombs (Bonanno, 2005).

Malta was the first territory outside Italy that was conquered by the Romans in 218 BC. The main Roman defences were around Melite, the capital city of Malta. Eventually, a number of round towers were built in the countryside. It is difficult to date these structures, as very little material has been discovered within them. Besides the possibility that they were built for defence purposes, it is suggested that could have been built to guard farming estates. Recent studies have suggested that these remains at Għajn Klieb, probably are of a threshing floor.

Carved into the hillside overlooking the valley, are a number of rock-cut chambers which have always been believed to be Jewish tombs. They were first documented by the father of Maltese historiography, Giovanni Francesco Abela (1582-1655) and it was even reported that Hebrew inscriptions were also discovered. Here a number of individual burial hypogea, typical of the rock-cut burial chambers that are found all over the islands, can be found. Sharing the same rock-face, these hypogea have been hewn out of the living rock, and after having been abandoned as burial grounds, some of these would have also been used by local farmers.

Amongst the most mysterious remains from ancient times are the so-called cart-ruts. These are usually ruts carved on the rock surface, and they run in pairs.  The grooves are in the form of a V, ending in a slightly rounded bottom. The distance between the two parallel ruts is consistent, although there are slight variations in different localities. These ruts seem to have been some kind of a transport system, although the type of carts or otherwise has been debated. Another difficulty is to which period they belong to. The most favoured periods are either the Bronze Age or the Classical period. There is also the mystery of what these would have been used for, what kind of material needed to be transported over the whole area. As they are found all over the islands, it is difficult to associate them to a particular period. The ones at Mtarfa are clearly cut by a Punic tomb, which might indicate that these date to the prehistoric period.

There are a number of similar stone-cross at various locations around the Maltese Islands. While they are usually referred to as the Dejma cross, where the local militia would meet in case of an invasion, there are others who maintain that these indicate parish limits. The crosses do not have any features, except that they are usually placed on top of a column, topped with a Doric capital and resting on a circular base. The area is known as Tas-Salib (of the Cross) due to the presence of this stone-cross.

The first church was built in 1615 by the nobleman Gio. Maria Xara. Due to the structural instability of the church, a new church was erected in 1685 by a member of the same Xara family. The church was dedicated to Our Lady of Hodigitria, although referred to in Malta as Our Lady of Ittria. The Xara coat-of-arms can be seen above the doorway of the church. This small rural church is well kept, and still in use by the small farming community that live in the area. It commands a wide view of the surrounding valley, fields and coastline. Close by are archaeological and military remains.

The church was probably built in the 16^th century. Its dedication to the Nativity of Our Lady was popular in Malta, especially after the victory of the Great Siege of 1565 as help from Sicily arrived in Malta on 8 September, the feast day of the Nativity of Our Lady. Built in the rural area of Rabat, it would suffer the usual lack of money and furnishings, until it was abandoned sometime in the 18^th century. It is a typical countryside rectangular rural church, with a number of waterspouts around it, and a small bell-cot on the façade. Next to the entrance is the usual marble tablet with the words Non Gode l’Immunita Ecclessiastica, thus indicating that ecclesiastical immunity was withdrawn. The church is also referred to as Tas-Salib (of the Cross) due to the presence of the stone cross close by.

In the middle of the fields lies the ruins of the medieval church dedicated to St Michael, the Sincere. The Maltese name for this church is of San Mikiel Sinċier, or San Ċir, a corruption of the proper title. A medieval building built in the 15^th century, the church was first documented during a visit by Mons. Pietro Dusina in 1575, who reported that the church only had an altar and a pavement. We note that during subsequent visits by the Bishops of Malta, the church was always described as being dedicated to St Michael. Eventually the church was abandoned, and it started to be used by local farmers. The church had a small cemetery on its side.

The earliest documentary evidence of a church dedicated to St Lucy dates back to the end of the 15^th century. It is also known that just before the Great Siege of 1565 it was pulled down, in order to disadvantage the Ottoman army who might use it for their own advantage. Rebuilt afterwards, the present edifice probably belongs to this period. In 1575 it was recorded that the church lacked wooden doors, but it was still functioning. The present building does not seem to have changed much from the 16^th century. Its architectural style is medieval, and it has a small apse behind the only altar. The façade has a small window above the only doorway, and a marble tablet with “Non Gode L’Immunita Ecclessiastica” inscribed on it, thus withdrawing ecclesiastical immunity from the church.

After the building of military barracks on Mtarfa hill towards the end of the 19^th century, a few years later a military hospital was built close by, instead of a much smaller hospital. This was not the first hospital that the British authorities had built in Malta. A new hospital was commissioned, and construction began in 1915 and completed by 1920. It was named the David Bruce Military Hospital. During the Second World War the hospital was extended to cater for more patients and an underground hospital was also excavated. At its maximum capacity, it had 1200 beds available. The hospital was also used by the Royal Navy and known as the David Bruce Royal Naval Hospital. In 1979 it was handed over to the Maltese Government.

Quarantine was a very important health issue in Malta, due to the large number of military personnel stationed here, and the presence of the Mediterranean Fleet. In 1924 an isolation hospital for the British services was inaugurated, close to the main buildings of the Hospital at Mtarfa. The one-storey building follows the typical architectural style of the time, with a number of pilasters and a portico that goes around the façade of the hospital. Large windows provided light to the wards.

The Mtarfa Clock tower was built in 1895, forming part of military barracks that were completed a few years earlier. The lower part of the tower is about 22.5 metres high, while the upper part goes for a further 9 metres. Besides some architectural details at the top part of the tower, there are few other such decorations. A spiral staircase leads one up to the top, where the clock mechanism is still located. The clock tower is a dominant feature of the Mtarfa Hill, and it has recently been restored by the Mtarfa Local Council.

The building of the Victoria Lines and Fort Binġemma required that a large garrison be stationed in the area. This led to the need to build new military barracks to accommodate the garrison. The Mtarfa barracks started being built in 1891 and were completed in 1896. Built on Mtarfa Hill, these barracks offered airy accommodation on spacious grounds. Eventually more buildings were added to the original blocks, and a small hospital with 42 beds was also built. Later the hospital was extended to have 55 beds. The barracks had porticoes providing the necessary shade during the long summer months. Eventually the Barracks Hospital became the Families Hospital, after the larger Mtarfa Military Hospital was completed in 1920.

One of the buildings that was erected within the Military Barracks of Mtarfa was a garrison church, built in 1921 and dedicated to St Oswald. The plan of the church is a reduced Latin cross plan, and it has only one altar. It was built to serve the Protestant members of the garrison stationed in Mtarfa. The centrally located bell tower was built at the end of the building, and it is different from what one is accustomed to see in other churches in Malta. The façade and two sides have a veranda going around. After the departure of the British Forces from Malta, the church was converted into a Roman Catholic church, and it is still in use.

Overlooking the Tal-Qlejgħa Valley is a building which was part of the rehabilitation project of the water sources towards Valletta, carried out in the early twentieth century. Making use of the old underground cisterns, built in the seventeenth century and forming part of the Wignacourt aqueduct, the authorities restored channels and made use of metal pipes to supplement enough water to the ever-increasing population in the Harbour area. According to the marble tablet on the façade, the project was carried out during the time of the Governor of Malta, General Sir Leslie Rundle (1909-1915), under the supervision of the Superintendent of Public Works, Lorenzo Gatt (1857-1938), who was responsible for extending and increasing the water supply.