A wide variety of vegetation grows on the headland, including large populations of esparto grass on the clay slopes in the area.

[16] The area also hosts representatives of the main marine habitat types occurring in the Maltese islands with many species and ecosystems of conservation importance.

[17] These include meadows of Posidonia seagrass, which support a large variety of organisms for conservation interest such as the noble pen clam.

[17] The extensive sandbanks found in inlets along this coast and beyond the seagrass meadows support diverse aquatic animals that live on the seabed.

[17][18][19] Ras ir-Raħeb's status as a marine protected area and its geological structure, with caves and posidonia meadows, have made it a unique and popular diving site.

[21] The archaeological importance of Ras ir-Raħeb was known since the late sixteenth century, with attempts to identify these remains with the Fanum Iunonis temple mentioned by Cicero.

A large, square area paved with "very regularly laid" small, baked tiles, was discovered by the farmer who tilled the field.

Work began in November 1961 and finished in May 1962, when a party of naval divers explored the seabed off the headland, reaching a depth of over 60 metres.

[n 2] Today, only the foundation stones, cut in squared limestone blocks, survive but a plan of the cluster of rectangular rooms grouped round a central courtyard can still be made out.

[27] Of greater interest is an ivory plaque, with a low relief of a crouching boar that is not of Classical Greek influence and may indicate the survival of Punic culture.

[37] The ramblers included a number of archaeologists who wrote to the Estate Management Department asking how such an important archaeological site was out of bounds to the public.

[42] A large wildfire burnt a significant swathe of the coastline in 2007, with various NGOs calling the general public to be vigilant and report abuse, in an area plagued by vandalism and illegal construction.

[45] In 2016, five tumoli of land forming part of the Ras ir-Raħeb headland was placed for sale - including the ancient remains found on the site.

[46] Heritage experts declared that while ownership of the land in questions appeared to be unclear, the recent introduction of a public domain law in Malta ought to exclude the purchase or sale of sites like Ras ir-Raħeb.

[46] In July 2016, Friends of the Earth, a local environmental committee, filed an application requesting that Ras ir-Raħeb along with six other sites be designated officially as public domain.