Temple places Excavating cultural sustainability in prehistoric Malta Volume 2 of Fragility and Sustainability -Studies on Early Malta, the ERC-funded FRAGSUS Project, 2020
The ERC-funded FRAGSUS Project (Fragility and sustainability in small island environments: adapta... more The ERC-funded FRAGSUS Project (Fragility and sustainability in small island environments: adaptation, culture change and collapse in prehistory, 2013–18) led by Caroline Malone (Queen’s University Belfast) has focused on the unique Temple Culture of Neolithic Malta, and its antecedents and successors through investigation of archaeological sites and monuments. This, the second volume of three, presents the results of excavations at four temple sites and two settlements, together with analysis of chronology, economy and material culture.
The project focused on the integration of three key strands of Malta's early human history (environmental change, human settlement and population) set against a series of questions that interrogated how human activity impacted on the changing natural environment and resources, which in turn impacted on the Neolithic populations. The evidence from early sites together with the human story preserved in burial remains reveals a dynamic and creative response over millennia. The scenario that emerges implies settlement from at least the mid-sixth millennium bc, with extended breaks in occupation, depopulation and environmental stress coupled with episodes of recolonization in response to changing economic, social and environmental opportunities.
Excavation at the temple site of Santa Verna (Gozo) revealed an occupation earlier than any previously dated site on the islands, whilst geophysical and geoarchaeological study at the nearby temple of Ġgantija revealed a close relationship with a spring, Neolithic soil management, and evidence for domestic and economic activities within the temple area. A targeted excavation at the temple of Skorba (Malta) revisited the chronological questions that were first revealed at the site over 50 years ago, with additional OSL and AMS sampling. The temple site of Kordin III (Malta) was explored to identify the major phases of occupation and to establish the chronology, a century after excavations first revealed the site. Settlement archaeology has long been problematic in Malta, overshadowed by the megalithic temples, but new work at the site of Taċ-Ċawla (Gozo) has gathered significant economic and structural evidence revealing how subsistence strategies supported agricultural communities in early Malta. A study of the second millennium bc Bronze Age site of In-Nuffara (Gozo) likewise has yielded significant economic and chronological information that charts the declining and changing environment of Malta in late prehistory.
This volume is dedicated to Anthony J. Frendo, professor of Near Eastern Archaeology and Hebrew B... more This volume is dedicated to Anthony J. Frendo, professor of Near Eastern Archaeology and Hebrew Bible at the University of Malta. Frendo has dedicated the largest part of his academic career to exploring the relationship between text and artefact. Appropriately, therefore, many of the collected essays operate at this interface between disciplines while focusing on a diverse array of material, such as Hebrew, Aramaic, and Punic epigraphy, Phoenician/Punic textual and material culture, ancient Near Eastern archaeology, biblical texts, the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as elements from Maltese archaeology, including a cuneiform inscription found at a local sanctuary at Tas-Silg.
Tas-Silg, on the south-east coast of the island of Malta, is a major multi-period site, with arch... more Tas-Silg, on the south-east coast of the island of Malta, is a major multi-period site, with archaeological remains spanning four thousand years. A megalithic temple complex built in the early third millennium BC gave way to a Phoenician and Punic sanctuary dedicated to the goddess Astarte. The sacred place underwent major transformations in Roman times, becoming an international religious complex dedicated to the goddess Juno. Located on the maritime routes plied by mariners and traders, its fame did not escape the attention of the first-century BC orator Cicero. Excavated as part of a major archaeological project in the 1960s, the site of Tas-Silg lay abandoned for several decades. In 1996, the University of Malta renewed excavations at the site for ten seasons, uncovering Neolithic and Late Bronze Age occupation levels, and substantial deposits associated with ritual offerings of Punic date. This volume is the second monograph of the final publication of the excavations. It provides an account of the pottery and of the hundreds of inscribed pottery sherds that were recovered during the excavations. It forms a companion volume to the first monograph, which reports on the history of the site and other finds.
Tas-Silg, on the south-east coast of the island of Malta, is a major multi-period site, with arch... more Tas-Silg, on the south-east coast of the island of Malta, is a major multi-period site, with archaeological remains spanning four thousand years. A megalithic temple complex built in the early third millennium BC gave way to a Phoenician and Punic sanctuary dedicated to the goddess Astarte. The sacred place underwent major transformations in Roman times, becoming an international religious complex dedicated to the goddess Juno. Located on the maritime routes plied by mariners and traders, its fame did not escape the attention of the first-century BC orator Cicero. Excavated as part of a major archaeological project in the 1960s, the site of Tas-Silg lay abandoned for several decades. In 1996, the University of Malta renewed excavations at the site for ten seasons, uncovering Neolithic and Late Bronze Age occupation levels, and substantial deposits associated with ritual offerings of Punic date. This volume is the first monograph of the final publication of the excavations. It provides an account of those excavations and of the studies which accompanied them, including the lithic assemblages, the figurative representations, scarabs and amulets, the worked stone, the coins, and environmental analyses. It forms a companion volume to the second monograph, which reports on the pottery and the inscribed pottery.
Borġ in-Nadur, on the south-east coast of the island of Malta, is a major multi-period site, with... more Borġ in-Nadur, on the south-east coast of the island of Malta, is a major multi-period site, with archaeological remains that span several thousand years. In the course of the Late Neolithic, the steep-sided ridge was occupied by a large megalithic temple complex that was re-occupied in the succeeding Bronze Age. In the course of the second millennium BC, the ridge was heavily fortified by a massive wall to protect a settlement of huts. Excavations were carried out here in 1881 and again in 1959. This volume brings together a number of contributions that report on those excavations, providing an exhaustive account of the stratigraphy, the pottery, the lithic assemblages, the bones, and the molluscs. Additional studies look at other sites in Malta and in neighbouring Sicily in an effort to throw light on the late prehistory of the south-central Mediterranean at a period when connections with regions near and far were increasing. The volume forms a companion to another monograph which concentrated on the temple remains at Borġ in-Nadur (D. Tanasi and N. C. Vella (eds), Site, artefacts and landscape: prehistoric Borġ in-Nadur, Malta. Praehistorica Mediterranea 3. Monza: Polimetrica, 2011).
The role of the Phoenicians in the economy, culture and politics of the ancient Mediterranean was... more The role of the Phoenicians in the economy, culture and politics of the ancient Mediterranean was as large as that of the Greeks and Romans, and deeply interconnected with that 'classical' world, but their lack of literature and their oriental associations mean that they are much less well-known. This book brings state-of-the-art international scholarship on Phoenician and Punic studies to an English-speaking audience, collecting new papers from fifteen leading voices in the field from Europe and North Africa, with a bias towards the younger generation. Focusing on a series of case-studies from the colonial world of the western Mediterranean, it asks what 'Phoenician' and 'Punic' actually mean, how Punic or western Phoenician identity has been constructed by ancients and moderns, and whether there was in fact a 'Punic world'.
The Bronze Age of the Maltese archipelago has long been overlooked by archaeologists whose attent... more The Bronze Age of the Maltese archipelago has long been overlooked by archaeologists whose attention has mostly been focused on the Late Neolithic temples. This book attempts to understand the islands’ Bronze Age society in the course of the second millennium BC by exploring the history of Borg in-Nadur in south-east Malta. The site of a megalithic temple and re-used in later periods when a fortified settlement was built on the plateau, Borg in-Nadur was visited by travellers and antiquarians in the course of the Early Modern period, and was investigated by archaeologists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. This collection of essays discusses the early attempts to understand the site, and presents a comprehensive catalogue of the finds that have never been properly published. It also considers the site in its local landscape setting and in its regional south-central Mediterranean context, and explores issues related to past and present public outreach and site management.
The role of the Phoenicians in the economy, culture and politics of the ancient Mediterranean was... more The role of the Phoenicians in the economy, culture and politics of the ancient Mediterranean was as large as that of the Greeks and Romans, and deeply interconnected with that 'classical' world, but their lack of literature and their oriental associations mean that they are much less well-known. This book brings state-of-the-art international scholarship on Phoenician and Punic studies to an English-speaking audience, collecting new papers from fifteen leading voices in the field from Europe and North Africa, with a bias towards the younger generation. Focusing on a series of case-studies from the colonial world of the western Mediterranean, it asks what 'Phoenician' and 'Punic' actually mean, how Punic or western Phoenician identity has been constructed by ancients and moderns, and whether there was in fact a 'Punic world'.
The present study seeks to understand the determinants of land agricultural suitability in Malta ... more The present study seeks to understand the determinants of land agricultural suitability in Malta before heavy mechanization. A GIS-based Logistic Regression model is built on the basis of the data from mid-1800s cadastral maps (cabreo). This is the first time that such data are being used for the purpose of building a predictive model. The maps record the agricultural quality of parcels (ranging from good to lowest), which is represented by different colours. The study treats the agricultural quality as a depended variable with two levels: optimal (corresponding to the good class) vs. non-optimal quality (mediocre, bad, low, and lowest classes). Seventeen predictors are isolated on the basis of literature review and data availability. Logistic Regression is used to isolate the predictors that can be considered determinants of the agricultural quality. Our model has an optimal discriminatory power (AUC: 0.92). The positive effect on land agricultural quality of the following predicto...
Borġ in-Nadur, on the south-east coast of the island of Malta, is a major multi-period site, with... more Borġ in-Nadur, on the south-east coast of the island of Malta, is a major multi-period site, with archaeological remains that span several thousand years. In the course of the Late Neolithic, the steep-sided ridge was occupied by a large megalithic temple complex that was re-occupied in the succeeding Bronze Age. In the course of the second millennium BC, the ridge was heavily fortified by a massive wall to protect a settlement of huts. Excavations were carried out here in 1881 and again in 1959. This volume brings together a number of contributions that report on those excavations, providing an exhaustive account of the stratigraphy, the pottery, the lithic assemblages, the bones, and the molluscs. Additional studies look at other sites in Malta and in neighbouring Sicily in an effort to throw light on the late prehistory of the south-central Mediterranean at a period when connections with regions near and far were increasing. The volume forms a companion to another monograph which concentrated on the temple remains at Borġ in-Nadur (D. Tanasi and N. C. Vella (eds), Site, artefacts and landscape: prehistoric Borġ in-Nadur, Malta. Praehistorica Mediterranea 3. Monza: Polimetrica, 2011).
The small size and relatively challenging environmental conditions of the semi-isolated Maltese a... more The small size and relatively challenging environmental conditions of the semi-isolated Maltese archipelago mean that the area offers an important case study of societal change and human-environment interactions. Following an initial phase of Neolithic settlement, the “Temple Period” in Malta began ∼5.8 thousand years ago (ka), and came to a seemingly abrupt end ∼4.3 ka, and was followed by Bronze Age societies with radically different material culture. Various ideas concerning the reasons for the end of the Temple Period have been expressed. These range from climate change, to invasion, to social conflict resulting from the development of a powerful “priesthood.” Here, we explore the idea that the end of the Temple Period relates to the 4.2 ka event. The 4.2 ka event has been linked with several examples of significant societal change around the Mediterranean, such as the end of the Old Kingdom in Egypt, yet its character and relevance have been debated. The Maltese example offers ...
Temple places Excavating cultural sustainability in prehistoric Malta Volume 2 of Fragility and Sustainability -Studies on Early Malta, the ERC-funded FRAGSUS Project, 2020
The ERC-funded FRAGSUS Project (Fragility and sustainability in small island environments: adapta... more The ERC-funded FRAGSUS Project (Fragility and sustainability in small island environments: adaptation, culture change and collapse in prehistory, 2013–18) led by Caroline Malone (Queen’s University Belfast) has focused on the unique Temple Culture of Neolithic Malta, and its antecedents and successors through investigation of archaeological sites and monuments. This, the second volume of three, presents the results of excavations at four temple sites and two settlements, together with analysis of chronology, economy and material culture.
The project focused on the integration of three key strands of Malta's early human history (environmental change, human settlement and population) set against a series of questions that interrogated how human activity impacted on the changing natural environment and resources, which in turn impacted on the Neolithic populations. The evidence from early sites together with the human story preserved in burial remains reveals a dynamic and creative response over millennia. The scenario that emerges implies settlement from at least the mid-sixth millennium bc, with extended breaks in occupation, depopulation and environmental stress coupled with episodes of recolonization in response to changing economic, social and environmental opportunities.
Excavation at the temple site of Santa Verna (Gozo) revealed an occupation earlier than any previously dated site on the islands, whilst geophysical and geoarchaeological study at the nearby temple of Ġgantija revealed a close relationship with a spring, Neolithic soil management, and evidence for domestic and economic activities within the temple area. A targeted excavation at the temple of Skorba (Malta) revisited the chronological questions that were first revealed at the site over 50 years ago, with additional OSL and AMS sampling. The temple site of Kordin III (Malta) was explored to identify the major phases of occupation and to establish the chronology, a century after excavations first revealed the site. Settlement archaeology has long been problematic in Malta, overshadowed by the megalithic temples, but new work at the site of Taċ-Ċawla (Gozo) has gathered significant economic and structural evidence revealing how subsistence strategies supported agricultural communities in early Malta. A study of the second millennium bc Bronze Age site of In-Nuffara (Gozo) likewise has yielded significant economic and chronological information that charts the declining and changing environment of Malta in late prehistory.
This volume is dedicated to Anthony J. Frendo, professor of Near Eastern Archaeology and Hebrew B... more This volume is dedicated to Anthony J. Frendo, professor of Near Eastern Archaeology and Hebrew Bible at the University of Malta. Frendo has dedicated the largest part of his academic career to exploring the relationship between text and artefact. Appropriately, therefore, many of the collected essays operate at this interface between disciplines while focusing on a diverse array of material, such as Hebrew, Aramaic, and Punic epigraphy, Phoenician/Punic textual and material culture, ancient Near Eastern archaeology, biblical texts, the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as elements from Maltese archaeology, including a cuneiform inscription found at a local sanctuary at Tas-Silg.
Tas-Silg, on the south-east coast of the island of Malta, is a major multi-period site, with arch... more Tas-Silg, on the south-east coast of the island of Malta, is a major multi-period site, with archaeological remains spanning four thousand years. A megalithic temple complex built in the early third millennium BC gave way to a Phoenician and Punic sanctuary dedicated to the goddess Astarte. The sacred place underwent major transformations in Roman times, becoming an international religious complex dedicated to the goddess Juno. Located on the maritime routes plied by mariners and traders, its fame did not escape the attention of the first-century BC orator Cicero. Excavated as part of a major archaeological project in the 1960s, the site of Tas-Silg lay abandoned for several decades. In 1996, the University of Malta renewed excavations at the site for ten seasons, uncovering Neolithic and Late Bronze Age occupation levels, and substantial deposits associated with ritual offerings of Punic date. This volume is the second monograph of the final publication of the excavations. It provides an account of the pottery and of the hundreds of inscribed pottery sherds that were recovered during the excavations. It forms a companion volume to the first monograph, which reports on the history of the site and other finds.
Tas-Silg, on the south-east coast of the island of Malta, is a major multi-period site, with arch... more Tas-Silg, on the south-east coast of the island of Malta, is a major multi-period site, with archaeological remains spanning four thousand years. A megalithic temple complex built in the early third millennium BC gave way to a Phoenician and Punic sanctuary dedicated to the goddess Astarte. The sacred place underwent major transformations in Roman times, becoming an international religious complex dedicated to the goddess Juno. Located on the maritime routes plied by mariners and traders, its fame did not escape the attention of the first-century BC orator Cicero. Excavated as part of a major archaeological project in the 1960s, the site of Tas-Silg lay abandoned for several decades. In 1996, the University of Malta renewed excavations at the site for ten seasons, uncovering Neolithic and Late Bronze Age occupation levels, and substantial deposits associated with ritual offerings of Punic date. This volume is the first monograph of the final publication of the excavations. It provides an account of those excavations and of the studies which accompanied them, including the lithic assemblages, the figurative representations, scarabs and amulets, the worked stone, the coins, and environmental analyses. It forms a companion volume to the second monograph, which reports on the pottery and the inscribed pottery.
Borġ in-Nadur, on the south-east coast of the island of Malta, is a major multi-period site, with... more Borġ in-Nadur, on the south-east coast of the island of Malta, is a major multi-period site, with archaeological remains that span several thousand years. In the course of the Late Neolithic, the steep-sided ridge was occupied by a large megalithic temple complex that was re-occupied in the succeeding Bronze Age. In the course of the second millennium BC, the ridge was heavily fortified by a massive wall to protect a settlement of huts. Excavations were carried out here in 1881 and again in 1959. This volume brings together a number of contributions that report on those excavations, providing an exhaustive account of the stratigraphy, the pottery, the lithic assemblages, the bones, and the molluscs. Additional studies look at other sites in Malta and in neighbouring Sicily in an effort to throw light on the late prehistory of the south-central Mediterranean at a period when connections with regions near and far were increasing. The volume forms a companion to another monograph which concentrated on the temple remains at Borġ in-Nadur (D. Tanasi and N. C. Vella (eds), Site, artefacts and landscape: prehistoric Borġ in-Nadur, Malta. Praehistorica Mediterranea 3. Monza: Polimetrica, 2011).
The role of the Phoenicians in the economy, culture and politics of the ancient Mediterranean was... more The role of the Phoenicians in the economy, culture and politics of the ancient Mediterranean was as large as that of the Greeks and Romans, and deeply interconnected with that 'classical' world, but their lack of literature and their oriental associations mean that they are much less well-known. This book brings state-of-the-art international scholarship on Phoenician and Punic studies to an English-speaking audience, collecting new papers from fifteen leading voices in the field from Europe and North Africa, with a bias towards the younger generation. Focusing on a series of case-studies from the colonial world of the western Mediterranean, it asks what 'Phoenician' and 'Punic' actually mean, how Punic or western Phoenician identity has been constructed by ancients and moderns, and whether there was in fact a 'Punic world'.
The Bronze Age of the Maltese archipelago has long been overlooked by archaeologists whose attent... more The Bronze Age of the Maltese archipelago has long been overlooked by archaeologists whose attention has mostly been focused on the Late Neolithic temples. This book attempts to understand the islands’ Bronze Age society in the course of the second millennium BC by exploring the history of Borg in-Nadur in south-east Malta. The site of a megalithic temple and re-used in later periods when a fortified settlement was built on the plateau, Borg in-Nadur was visited by travellers and antiquarians in the course of the Early Modern period, and was investigated by archaeologists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. This collection of essays discusses the early attempts to understand the site, and presents a comprehensive catalogue of the finds that have never been properly published. It also considers the site in its local landscape setting and in its regional south-central Mediterranean context, and explores issues related to past and present public outreach and site management.
The role of the Phoenicians in the economy, culture and politics of the ancient Mediterranean was... more The role of the Phoenicians in the economy, culture and politics of the ancient Mediterranean was as large as that of the Greeks and Romans, and deeply interconnected with that 'classical' world, but their lack of literature and their oriental associations mean that they are much less well-known. This book brings state-of-the-art international scholarship on Phoenician and Punic studies to an English-speaking audience, collecting new papers from fifteen leading voices in the field from Europe and North Africa, with a bias towards the younger generation. Focusing on a series of case-studies from the colonial world of the western Mediterranean, it asks what 'Phoenician' and 'Punic' actually mean, how Punic or western Phoenician identity has been constructed by ancients and moderns, and whether there was in fact a 'Punic world'.
The present study seeks to understand the determinants of land agricultural suitability in Malta ... more The present study seeks to understand the determinants of land agricultural suitability in Malta before heavy mechanization. A GIS-based Logistic Regression model is built on the basis of the data from mid-1800s cadastral maps (cabreo). This is the first time that such data are being used for the purpose of building a predictive model. The maps record the agricultural quality of parcels (ranging from good to lowest), which is represented by different colours. The study treats the agricultural quality as a depended variable with two levels: optimal (corresponding to the good class) vs. non-optimal quality (mediocre, bad, low, and lowest classes). Seventeen predictors are isolated on the basis of literature review and data availability. Logistic Regression is used to isolate the predictors that can be considered determinants of the agricultural quality. Our model has an optimal discriminatory power (AUC: 0.92). The positive effect on land agricultural quality of the following predicto...
Borġ in-Nadur, on the south-east coast of the island of Malta, is a major multi-period site, with... more Borġ in-Nadur, on the south-east coast of the island of Malta, is a major multi-period site, with archaeological remains that span several thousand years. In the course of the Late Neolithic, the steep-sided ridge was occupied by a large megalithic temple complex that was re-occupied in the succeeding Bronze Age. In the course of the second millennium BC, the ridge was heavily fortified by a massive wall to protect a settlement of huts. Excavations were carried out here in 1881 and again in 1959. This volume brings together a number of contributions that report on those excavations, providing an exhaustive account of the stratigraphy, the pottery, the lithic assemblages, the bones, and the molluscs. Additional studies look at other sites in Malta and in neighbouring Sicily in an effort to throw light on the late prehistory of the south-central Mediterranean at a period when connections with regions near and far were increasing. The volume forms a companion to another monograph which concentrated on the temple remains at Borġ in-Nadur (D. Tanasi and N. C. Vella (eds), Site, artefacts and landscape: prehistoric Borġ in-Nadur, Malta. Praehistorica Mediterranea 3. Monza: Polimetrica, 2011).
The small size and relatively challenging environmental conditions of the semi-isolated Maltese a... more The small size and relatively challenging environmental conditions of the semi-isolated Maltese archipelago mean that the area offers an important case study of societal change and human-environment interactions. Following an initial phase of Neolithic settlement, the “Temple Period” in Malta began ∼5.8 thousand years ago (ka), and came to a seemingly abrupt end ∼4.3 ka, and was followed by Bronze Age societies with radically different material culture. Various ideas concerning the reasons for the end of the Temple Period have been expressed. These range from climate change, to invasion, to social conflict resulting from the development of a powerful “priesthood.” Here, we explore the idea that the end of the Temple Period relates to the 4.2 ka event. The 4.2 ka event has been linked with several examples of significant societal change around the Mediterranean, such as the end of the Old Kingdom in Egypt, yet its character and relevance have been debated. The Maltese example offers ...
The ERC-funded FRAGSUS Project (Fragility and sustainability in small island environments: adapta... more The ERC-funded FRAGSUS Project (Fragility and sustainability in small island environments: adaptation, culture change and collapse in prehistory, 2013–18) led by Caroline Malone (Queen's University Belfast) has focused on the unique Temple Culture of Neolithic Malta, and its antecedents and successors through investigation of archaeological sites and monuments. This, the second volume of three, presents the results of excavations at four temple sites and two settlements, together with analysis of chronology, economy and material culture. The project focused on the integration of three key strands of Malta's early human history (environmental change, human settlement and population) set against a series of questions that interrogated how human activity impacted on the changing natural environment and resources, which in turn impacted on the Neolithic populations. The evidence from early sites together with the human story preserved in burial remains reveals a dynamic and creative response over millennia. The scenario that emerges implies settlement from at least the mid-sixth millennium bc, with extended breaks in occupation, depopulation and environmental stress coupled with episodes of recolonization in response to changing economic, social and environmental opportunities. Excavation at the temple site of Santa Verna (Gozo) revealed an occupation earlier than any previously dated site on the islands, whilst geophysical and geoarchaeological study at the nearby temple of Ġgantija revealed a close relationship with a spring, Neolithic soil management, and evidence for domestic and economic activities within the temple area. A targeted excavation at the temple of Skorba (Malta) revisited the chronological questions that were first revealed at the site over 50 years ago, with additional OSL and AMS sampling. The temple site of Kordin III (Malta) was explored to identify the major phases of occupation and to establish the chronology, a century after excavations first revealed the site. Settlement archaeology has long [...]
Location of site The remains of the Żejtun Roman Villa lie on the highest point of a long, somewh... more Location of site The remains of the Żejtun Roman Villa lie on the highest point of a long, somewhat flat ridge that stretches for about 1 km roughly in an east-west direction (Fig. 1). This point is located close to the east end of the ridge. Beyond Dun Lawrenz Degabriele Street that borders the Girls Secondary School grounds on the east side, this ridge starts dipping rather rapidly towards TasSilġ and Delimara, along the road leading to those destinations. The ridge dips slightly less rapidly to the north, beyond Luqa Briffa Street, even less rapidly to the south, beyond the Żejtun Bypass (Anton Buttigieg Street) while it maintains more or less the same altitude to the west up to Bir id-Deheb from where the ground starts rising again towards Gudja and the parish church of Ħal Għaxaq. The ground level of the Villa remains, therefore, is a couple of metres higher than that of the old parish church of Santa Katerina (the present St Gregory’s church) and considerably higher than that ...
The paper presents the first interdisciplinary results of a joint survey project in the northwest... more The paper presents the first interdisciplinary results of a joint survey project in the northwest of Malta, with finds ranging from the Prehistoric till the Early Modern period. Three permanently inhabited sites were encountered dating to at least the late 6th or early 5th century BCE, with a clearer attestation in the Hellenistic/Roman and Late Antique periods. The resulting reconstructed settlement pattern of the Phoenician/Punic period suggests a managed landscape that seems to be a good reflexion of what is happening in North Africa and elsewhere in the central and western Mediterranean. At least from the Roman period on, these sites seem to have specialised on the production of olive oil.
Two major excavation campaigns took place at the site of Borġ in-Nadur in the twentieth century, ... more Two major excavation campaigns took place at the site of Borġ in-Nadur in the twentieth century, one by Margaret Murray and another by David Trump. This paper highlights, the discoveries and interpretations put forth by archaeologists. Archival material is used to throw light on the published stratigraphic sequence from the Bronze Age huts on site.
The present study seeks to understand the determinants of land agricultural suitability in Malta ... more The present study seeks to understand the determinants of land agricultural suitability in Malta before heavy mechanization. A GIS-based Logistic Regression model is built on the basis of the data from mid-1800s cadastral maps (cabreo). This is the first time that such data are being used for the purpose of building a predictive model. The maps record the agricultural quality of parcels (ranging from good to lowest), which is represented by different colours. The study treats the agricultural quality as a depended variable with two levels: optimal (corresponding to the good class) vs. non-optimal quality (mediocre, bad, low, and lowest classes). Seventeen predictors are isolated on the basis of literature review and data availability. Logistic Regression is used to isolate the predictors that can be considered determinants of the agricultural quality. Our model has an optimal discriminatory power (AUC: 0.92). The positive effect on land agricultural quality of the following predictors is considered and discussed: sine of the aspect (odds ratio 1.42), coast distance (2.46), Brown Rendzinas (2.31), Carbonate Raw (2.62) and Xerorendzinas (9.23) soils, distance to minor roads (4.88). Predictors resulting having a negative effect are: terrain elevation (0.96), slope (0.97), distance to the nearest geological fault lines (0.09), Terra Rossa soil (0.46), distance to secondary roads (0.19) and footpaths (0.41). The model isolates a host of topographic and cultural variables, the latter related to human mobility and landscape accessibility, which differentially contributed to the agricultural suitability, providing the bases for the creation of the fragmented and extremely variegated agricultural landscape that is the hallmark of the Maltese Islands. Our findings are also useful to suggest new questions that may be posed to the more meagre evidence from earlier periods.
A legacy of antiquarian and archaeological explorations in the Maltese archipelago has long been ... more A legacy of antiquarian and archaeological explorations in the Maltese archipelago has long been identified with the rock-cut tombs and associated funerary remains of the Phoenician and Punic periods. By contrast, little is known about the islands’ countryside in antiquity. Recent excavations at the site of a long-lived Roman villa complex in
Żejtun (Malta) have begun to throw light on the rural world of the archipelago, unravelling the nature of the transition between the Punic and Roman periods where continuity rather than rupture implied by the phases of culture history is becoming clearer.
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Books by Nicholas Vella
The project focused on the integration of three key strands of Malta's early human history (environmental change, human settlement and population) set against a series of questions that interrogated how human activity impacted on the changing natural environment and resources, which in turn impacted on the Neolithic populations. The evidence from early sites together with the human story preserved in burial remains reveals a dynamic and creative response over millennia. The scenario that emerges implies settlement from at least the mid-sixth millennium bc, with extended breaks in occupation, depopulation and environmental stress coupled with episodes of recolonization in response to changing economic, social and environmental opportunities.
Excavation at the temple site of Santa Verna (Gozo) revealed an occupation earlier than any previously dated site on the islands, whilst geophysical and geoarchaeological study at the nearby temple of Ġgantija revealed a close relationship with a spring, Neolithic soil management, and evidence for domestic and economic activities within the temple area. A targeted excavation at the temple of Skorba (Malta) revisited the chronological questions that were first revealed at the site over 50 years ago, with additional OSL and AMS sampling. The temple site of Kordin III (Malta) was explored to identify the major phases of occupation and to establish the chronology, a century after excavations first revealed the site. Settlement archaeology has long been problematic in Malta, overshadowed by the megalithic temples, but new work at the site of Taċ-Ċawla (Gozo) has gathered significant economic and structural evidence revealing how subsistence strategies supported agricultural communities in early Malta. A study of the second millennium bc Bronze Age site of In-Nuffara (Gozo) likewise has yielded significant economic and chronological information that charts the declining and changing environment of Malta in late prehistory.
Papers by Nicholas Vella
The project focused on the integration of three key strands of Malta's early human history (environmental change, human settlement and population) set against a series of questions that interrogated how human activity impacted on the changing natural environment and resources, which in turn impacted on the Neolithic populations. The evidence from early sites together with the human story preserved in burial remains reveals a dynamic and creative response over millennia. The scenario that emerges implies settlement from at least the mid-sixth millennium bc, with extended breaks in occupation, depopulation and environmental stress coupled with episodes of recolonization in response to changing economic, social and environmental opportunities.
Excavation at the temple site of Santa Verna (Gozo) revealed an occupation earlier than any previously dated site on the islands, whilst geophysical and geoarchaeological study at the nearby temple of Ġgantija revealed a close relationship with a spring, Neolithic soil management, and evidence for domestic and economic activities within the temple area. A targeted excavation at the temple of Skorba (Malta) revisited the chronological questions that were first revealed at the site over 50 years ago, with additional OSL and AMS sampling. The temple site of Kordin III (Malta) was explored to identify the major phases of occupation and to establish the chronology, a century after excavations first revealed the site. Settlement archaeology has long been problematic in Malta, overshadowed by the megalithic temples, but new work at the site of Taċ-Ċawla (Gozo) has gathered significant economic and structural evidence revealing how subsistence strategies supported agricultural communities in early Malta. A study of the second millennium bc Bronze Age site of In-Nuffara (Gozo) likewise has yielded significant economic and chronological information that charts the declining and changing environment of Malta in late prehistory.
Żejtun (Malta) have begun to throw light on the rural world of the archipelago, unravelling the nature of the transition between the Punic and Roman periods where continuity rather than rupture implied by the phases of culture history is becoming clearer.