ABSTRACT

St Francis of Assisi Church is an historic religious building in the centre of Valletta, Malta’s capital. Through analysis of the roof structure we have determined the timber species used in its construction, their state of conservation and the date of different building phases and maintenance work. The study provides an historical and cultural framework for the entire building. Apart from identifying the type of timber and typically English way of construction, dendrochronological dating has revealed two precise phases of intensive restoration, dating to 1681 and 1876, respectively. For both periods, the timber’s provenance points to the Eastern Alps, based on dendrochronological master chronologies of European larch (Larix decidua). Furthermore, a single Norway spruce (Picea abies) board from the vault was dated to 1684. This church is a typical example of Maltese culture, intermingled with other cultures that have resulted in a very particular architectural-work.

摘要

阿西西圣弗朗西斯教堂是马耳他首都瓦莱塔市中心的一座历史悠久的宗教建筑。通过对屋顶结构的分析，我们确定了其建造中使用的木材种类、它们的保护状态以及不同建筑阶段和维护工作的日期。该研究为整个建筑提供了一个历史和文化框架。除了确定木材类型和典型的英式建筑方式外，树木年代学还揭示了两个精确的密集修复阶段，分别可追溯到 1681 年和 1876 年。根据欧洲落叶松 ( Larix decidua ) 的树木年代学主编年表，这两个时期的木材均来自东阿尔卑斯山。此外，一棵挪威云杉 ( Picea abies) 拱顶上的木板可追溯至 1684 年。这座教堂是马耳他文化的典型代表，与其他文化相融合，形成了非常特殊的建筑作品。