Maltese are probably not direct descendants of temple builders

Although forebears of the temple builders on the Maltese islands, the Maltese are probably not their direct descendants, Prof. David H. Trump says in his latest publication "Malta: Prehistory and Temples", which was launched yesterday by Midsea Books Ltd.

The book, with photography by Daniel Cilia, puts together all the knowledge available to date regarding Malta's prehistory in a way that is easy to follow.

Prof. Trump reaches the conclusion that the Maltese are probably not the direct descendants of the temple builders because of the break in the sequence between the cultures of the temples and the cemetery at Tarxien.

However, he says that the Maltese "have every justification for pride in those early achievements".

"Malta: Prehistory and Temples" is the first in a series of five volumes on "Malta's Living Heritage", all of which include photography by Daniel Cilia and are edited by Louis J. Scerri.

It was launched at the National Museum of Archaeology yesterday.

"Malta: Prehistory and Temples" uses simple language and its layout make it an ideal start-up for those with a keen interest to know more about Malta's history, Klabb Kotba Maltin said in a statement.

The 320-page book is packed with updated information, colour photography and exclusive illustrations prepared by a team of international illustrators. In fact, it has more than 300 photographs and illustrations.

It presents a pictorial record of all temple, hypogea and other sites. It describes the statuettes, pottery and other material excavated from each site and features a detailed visual treatment of 30 key sites, with maps of the Maltese archipelago showing the exact locations of the prehistoric temples all over the island.

Prof. Trump first visited Malta in 1954 to assist John Evans with excavations at Ggantija. In 1958, he was appointed curator of archaeology at the National Museum of Malta and excavated a number of sites, Skorba being the most rewarding.

He also added new phases to the prehistoric sequence in Sardinia.

From 1986 to 1994, he dug with the team which excavated the Xaghra Circle. Since retiring from teaching in 1997, he has continued his research in Malta and Sardinia. His publications include "Malta: an Archaeological Guide".

Photographer Daniel Cilia's work has been published in several magazines in Europe, Japan and the USA. In 1995, his photography was used to create a multi-vision production entitled "Gozo 360°, Island of Joy".

His photographic studies on Malta have appeared in several publications including "The Temple of the Knights of Malta" in 2000 and "The Sovereign Palaces of Malta" in 2001.

The other volumes to be published in the "Malta's Living Heritage Series" are "Ancient Malta" by Anthony Bonanno, "The Dark Ages of Malta" by Charles Dalli, "The Knights of St John" by Victor Mallia-Milanes and "Malta under the British" by Anthony Seymour.