GPR Investigations at St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta. Near Surface Geophysics

The co-cathedral of St. John in Valetta, Malta represents a unique monument of historical importance. In this article, we present the results of a detailed GPR campaign performed in this co-cathedral. The campaign was aimed at investigating the distribution of buried tombs under the mosaic floor of the main nave and of the lateral chapels of the co-cathedral. The floor of the church shows a continuity of grave inscriptions, in the main nave as well as in all lateral chapels. It was suspected, based on available historical documents, that only a part of the present-day inscriptions corresponds to the original sepultures or tombs. The GPR results presented here further highlight this conjecture and offer additional information regarding this important monument.