Editing Filfla (section)

==History==

Lone Island, also called the island of Filfla, was possibly sacred to the Neolithic inhabitants of Malta, who built the temples of [[Ħaġar Qim]] and [[Mnajdra]] on the Maltese coast opposite the islet.<ref name=tvm2016-01-08>{{cite news|title=An island cemetery for bombs on which no one can set foot|url=http://www.tvm.com.mt/en/news/watch-an-island-cemetery-for-bombs-on-which-no-one-can-set-foot/|work=[[TVM (Malta)|TVM]]|date=6 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108154044/http://www.tvm.com.mt/en/news/watch-an-island-cemetery-for-bombs-on-which-no-one-can-set-foot/|archive-date=8 January 2016}}</ref>

The only known permanent structure on the island was a [[chapel]] built inside a cave in 1343,<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Festa Santa Marija|last=Attard|first=Anton F|date=2012|title=Il-Castrum Terre Gaudisii u l-Origini tal-Matrici tal-Assunta f'Ghawdex|url=https://www.yumpu.com/it/document/read/51521541/gawdex-leone-philharmonic-society/9|issue=9|pages=70–77|publisher=Leone Philharmonic Society}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/filfla-too-had-a-chapel-dedicated-to-our-lady.103000|title=Filfla too had a chapel dedicated to Our Lady|last=Cini|first=George|date=4 January 2005|website=Times of Malta|access-date=25 February 2020}}</ref> which was destroyed by an [[Seismic risk in Malta#Earthquake of 12 October 1856|earthquake in 1856]] that also sank part of the island. A map of Malta dating back to 1798 shows a fort, a lighthouse and a monastery with a chapel on Filfla.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Dalli|first1=Kim|title='Napoleon' map gives a tantalising clue to the past|url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150428/local/napoleon-map-gives-a-tantalising-clue-to-the-past.565926|access-date=29 April 2015|work=[[Times of Malta]]|date=28 April 2015}}</ref>

Until 1971 the [[Royal Navy]] and [[Royal Air Force]] used the island for target practice, and spent cartridges from these bombardments can still be found on Filfla today.<ref name=tvm2016-01-08/> It became a bird reserve in 1980. The ''Filfla Natural Reserve Act'', enacted in 1988, provided for further restrictions on access and use, including a prohibition on fishing within one [[nautical mile]] (1.9&nbsp;km) around the island due to the possibility of encountering unexploded [[Ammunition#Ordnance ammunition|ordnance]].<ref name="morana"/>

Maltese Government notice 173 of 1990 once again permitted fishing within the one-mile zone.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.um.edu.mt/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/43845/9..Marine_Protected_Areas_in_the_Maltese_Islands_1999.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2015-04-18 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304192834/http://www.um.edu.mt/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/43845/9..Marine_Protected_Areas_in_the_Maltese_Islands_1999.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Filfla was invoked in a territorial dispute over the [[continental shelf]] between [[Libya]] and Malta. The case was adjudicated by the [[International Court of Justice]] in 1985 essentially by ignoring the islet from the calculations.<ref name="Smith1991">{{cite book|author=Hance D. Smith|title=The Development of Integrated Sea Use Management|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zH5LYOBEs48C&pg=PA82|year=1991|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-03816-4|page=82}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.icj-cij.org/files/case-related/68/068-19850603-JUD-01-00-BI.pdf |title=CASE CONCERNING THE CONTINENTAL SHELF (LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA/MALTA) Judgment of 3 June 1985 |access-date=22 February 2019 |archive-date=22 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222204624/https://www.icj-cij.org/files/case-related/68/068-19850603-JUD-01-00-BI.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>