David H. Trump: Malta Prehistory and Temples, photography by Daniel Cilia, Midsea Books, 2002, pp. 320.

This is certainly a much-awaited book! Malta: Prehistory and Temples brings together many of David H. Trump's central research themes on Maltese prehistory. At a time when so much bizarre and unfounded speculation about Malta's prehistoric antiquities is appearing in print, Trump's book comes as a breath of fresh air. Reality is always more exciting than fiction, and the reading public will certainly welcome this long-awaited publication. In addition, Midsea Books has laid on a full colour production that is very indicative of the various directions that Maltese heritage publications are taking.

The success of Malta: Prehistory and Temples lies in a simple formula that brings together content, excellent photography, colour and a series of graphic illustrations. The book's photography is provided by Daniel Cilia, whose extensive photographic studies of Malta's heritage are well known from a number of publications. For this book, he has put together a selection of images that complement Trump's central account by providing a 'visual narrative' of their own.

Cilia also provides a series of colour-enhanced archaeological plans, which have previously been known as black and white line drawings in a number of publications, archives and archaeological reports.

In addition, a number of illustrated reconstructions are provided to help readers visualise archaeological information that cannot always be explained by narratives or photography alone. Produced by Midsea's team of international artists, these illustrations animate a number of archaeological curiosities, such as temple roofing or the original height of the standing figure from the Tarxien temples. Pottery-making and the art of shaping stone tools are also explained by illustrations.

Malta: Prehistory and Temples serves as a guidebook as well as a sound introduction to Malta's prehistory. The book is structured around a number of chapters that follow the well-known divisions of Maltese prehistory. The central theme remains that of the late Neolithic or the temple period (3600-2500 BC). But a wide range of subjects are tackled with clarity and that sort of soundness that is expected of scientific research.

The book opens with a customary treatment of the discovery and study of Maltese prehistory and a more extensive discussion of the archipelago's geological and topographic make-up.

An innovative addition is an illustrated colour-coded time chart, in which a number of milestones, monuments and items from Malta's prehistory are complemented by photographs of contemporary archaeological sites from elsewhere around the world. The chart emphasises the importance of Maltese antiquities in the context of world archaeology.

This is not a matter of simply comparing notes. In the history of the evolution of humankind, Malta holds a special place. The temples are the earliest known examples of fully developed and pre-designed architecture. The phenomenon of sophisticated rock-carved architecture at Hal Saflieni predated known examples, such as Petra, by well over two millennia. Towards the end of Malta: Prehistory and Temples, Trump highlights the World Heritage status that is enjoyed by many of Malta's temples.

A prologue provides a brief overview of almost four centuries during which interest in Malta's antiquities evolved through many scholarly stages. Gian Francesco Abela still holds the distinguished place as the father of Maltese historiography and antiquarian studies, in spite of a number of revisionist attempts to correct his views of Maltese history.

Sir Temi Zammit then represents another major milestone. Without the aid of carbon dating (at the time, still a few decades away from being discovered) or sophisticated excavation techniques, Zammit almost single-handedly placed Maltese prehistory in a proper perspective. His three decades of excavation established the essential working framework for much of Maltese prehistory. Zammit's work was augmented by that of Professor John D. Evans and David Trump after World War Two.

The discovery of carbon dating in 1954 marked a turning point for world archaeology. The increasing use of scientific techniques has meant that some of the most spectacular discoveries in archaeology will be taking place in laboratories.

Carbon-dated samples from Trump's Skorba excavations of 1966, and from the older Tarxien excavations revealed the true antiquity of the temples. The renowned Cambridge professor of archaeology, Colin Renfrew, proclaimed them as the world's "oldest freestanding stone monuments". This discovery remains one of the most spectacular in world archaeology, and certainly one that enhances the value of one of Malta's prized cultural assets.

The important theme of science and archaeology is taken up once again in the closing pages of the book. The inevitability of science supersedes whimsical conspiracy theories and fringe fancies. Trump echoes current discussions among Maltese scholars. Future work in Maltese archaeology will require a heavy investment in scientific testing and research of a high calibre. There is still much work that needs to begin in areas covering DNA, scientific dating techniques, pottery analyses, pollen analyses and others.

Interestingly, Midsea's graphic illustrations point to an additional area of interest that is also related to the use of scientific solutions in archaeology - experimental archaeology. Very little has been achieved in this academic and public interest area of archaeology.

The BBC experiment on cart-ruts is echoed in a double-page illustration accompanied by Trump's caption highlighting two possible ways in which the cart-ruts may have been created. Other illustrations treat such important aspects as burial practices and the more arresting questions of how the temples had been built and roofed. Some field experiments are well worth pursuing in these areas.

In the main part, Malta: Temples and Prehistory takes us over a familiar subject matter which, however merits revisiting as often as possible. Around 5000 BC agriculture made an appearance in the Maltese Islands. The adoption of a Neolithic lifestyle was necessary for communities to survive in an archipelago that lacks resources. Agriculture presented sustainable subsistence methods which were ideal for people living in small and highly restrictive geographic environments.

Trump characterises Malta's early agriculture as one that may have at first been rudimentary. This would have been very much in keeping with Neolithic practices known elsewhere in the Central Mediterranean.

But over time, the prehistoric communities of Malta and Gozo managed to rise above their environmental subsistence conditions. Early agricultural stages developed more or less over a millennium, between the Ghar Dalam phase (c. 5200 BC) and the Zebbug phase (c. 4000 BC). This period is known from very fragmented archaeological material.

Most of this is known from Trump's own excavations at Skorba as well as from older work at Ghar Dalam and contemporary sites. Skorba provided good evidence for a Neolithic village, the origins of which were securely dated to the Ghar Dalam phase. The first association of anthropomorphic figurines with ritual concerns was firmly confirmed by the discovery of the 'Red Skorba' shrine.

After 4000 BC the Maltese Islands embarked on a number of social and cultural developments. The archaeological record reflects the foremost material aspects of these developments. One of the first significant developments was the appearance of collective burials in rock-cut chamber tombs. Over a number of centuries, this ritual and cultural element was elaborated. Beginning with smallish simple tombs, such as those found at Ta' Trapna and the Xaghra Circle, this funerary monument experienced re-design stages.

The creation of a larger communal burial space appears to have been the objective. The Xemxija tombs and the Upper level of the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum represent a possible intermediary stage that coincided with the building of the megalithic temples around 3600 BC. But among other objectives, there was certainly the creation of the sophisticated funerary spaces on the Middle and Lower levels of the Hypogeum and the burial chambers of the Xaghra Circle.

The architecture of the temple period is well-known. The current version of the temples appeared first around 3600 BC. By a few centuries later, some of the more important buildings had been altered or enlarged. Malta's megalithic architecture reached its highest level of artistic development during the Tarxien phase, 3000-2500 BC. Construction of these temples was certainly a highly developed engineering exercise which required organised human resources, craftsmanship of the highest calibre and an artistic flair that has remained unparallelled.

The temples and their cemeteries became repositories of some of the finest art of the prehistoric world. As seen in Trump's description and Cilia's photography, even such a mundane element as pottery followed aesthetic rules of decorative art which are distinctive and a trademark of Maltese prehistory. The arrangements of stone-carved spirals, most of which are now at the Museum of Archaeology, still rank among the finest abstract creations of world art.

Finally, temples and cemeteries were also houses of some of the most impressive figurines that are known from world prehistory. The Maltese anthropomorphic statues come in various shapes and sizes. But rarely does such a collection find similar images. In the Mediterranean only the Cycladic figurines of the Aegean come close to rivalling the Maltese statues in terms of importance and artistic achievement.

As in the case of the earlier chapter, Trump dedicates a good section of Malta: Prehistory and Temples to the Maltese Bronze Age. In many ways, this period is as exciting as the temple period. It is only because the period is represented by less spectacular ruins, that the Bronze Age has often been described as an anti-climax.

Malta and the age of metals is a story on its own. A bossed-bone plaque, dated to around 2300 BC, is a prized reminder of Malta's links to the central Mediterranean and the Aegean. This strange object has been found only at Troy, Lerna, south Italy, Sicily and Malta. Certainly a limited group of places. But they were all tantalisingly within the broad confines of the world of Odysseus.

By the Middle Bronze Age, the Borg in-Nadur (1500-750 BC) the Maltese Islands came under the influence of the broader Mediterranean economic developments that saw the rise of Mycenaean trade and what many scholars characterise as a new world order.

The material of Malta: Prehistory and Temples is by all measures formidable. But in Trump's hands, Malta's vast prehistoric repertoire of antiquities and curiosities becomes readily accessible. Ideas and concepts are simplified without them losing any of their scientific soundness. Trump achieves this by dividing the subject matter into short units of text.

Short dossiers of important archaeological sites or concepts related to Maltese prehistory form the fundamental structure of the book. In this way, Malta: Prehistory and Temples is encyclopedic in perspective. Like Professor Anthony Bonanno's recent Il-Preistorja, David Trump's book will be a necessary and welcome general introduction to Malta's prehistory.

Dr Pace is director of the Museums Department