Pauline Dingli argues that pits on the shore in Delimara could have been made by man for a specific use, possibly dating to the golden age of the Roman Empire or even to more than 2,500 years ago.

The shore platforms along the southern coast have a particular ‘cracked’ characteristic, different from others found elsewhere on the Maltese islands.

When considering certain deep circular rock pools at St Peter’s Pool, Xrobb l-Għaġin, Xgħajra and others, questions are bound to emerge

These ‘cracks’, or fissures, are in the form of lines running perpendicular to the sea. This characteristic has, through erosion, resulted in several circular shallow pits that dot the coast. Over the years, many of these pits were altered to square salt pans like other salt pan systems elsewhere.

At St Peter’s Pool, in Delimara, there are about 50 deep round pits amid the other salt pans that were used as wells or water reservoirs by salt producers. The pits are one to two metres deep, with an average diameter of one metre.

Other similar pools can be found on various sites along the southern shores. Some are submerged, like salt pans in other sites around the island.

Research has produced no documentation on these round pits but, since most of them have a lot of debris within, it is assumed that they have been formed by rough wave action, rotating the debris within.

However, based on research on other Mediterranean coasts, it is possible that these pits were made by man for a specific use. If so, such pits could be dated to the golden age of the Roman Empire or even to more than 2,500 years ago.

When surveying these round, rock pools, the first idea that comes to mind is that they were formed through the normal coastal weathering process. The continuous action of the sea waves, generally in a circular action, rotates debris to create a circular pit within the fissures or holes. The circular pits generally erode both in width and depth, thus giving the pits their main characterisitic shape and size.

When studying salt pans that do not come in contact with wave action, it was noted that, over decades, if not centuries, these only developed an indent of five to seven centimetres within the embankment on the inside of the canals and pans.

So when considering certain deep circular rock pools at St Peter’s Pool, Xrobb l-Għaġin, Xgħajra and others, questions are bound to emerge.

How is it that some pools are much deeper and wider than other pits around them? If they were eroded through storms over many seasons, how is it that they have smooth even sides or that some pools that are on a high level of the shore platform are deeper than those lying closer to the sea?

The top parts of the pits do not always have a smooth eroded finish. Conversely, some pits seem to have had the top shaped to have a lid fitted.

These perfectly circular cylindrical pools can be found in a geometric cluster of pools indicating planning, and some pits can still be seen protected by a stone structure around them.

These characterisitics make these archaeological remains potential candidates for garum production and storage. Could these pits at Peter’s Pool have been used by the Phoenicians or the Romans to produce garum?

Gozo garum

Enrico Gurioli, a contemporary Italian journalist who has investigated the possibility of garum traces in the salt pan sites at Marsalforn, has stated that these pans surely predate Roman times and possess all the requisites to prove that they had produced garum in ancient times: salt, sun and fish.

At Marsalforn, the fish was presumably left to ripen in the sun for a long time in the deep pits and stirred from time to time. Eventually, the fermented liquid was sealed in amphorae and loaded on ships.

The Romans had organised ‘fleets of salt’ with well-defended and armed sea vessels to protect the precious cargo from pirate assault.

Gurioli added that there are sites on the Maltese coast that should prove that garum had been produced on the island.

Malta’s salt pans are not much different from other salt pans in the Mediterranean that used to produce garum, while the cylindrical pits are identical.

Gurioli observed that, perhaps, the evidence of industrial production of garum in Malta still lies preserved in sealed amphorae buried deep under the sea around the islands.

Analysis of the pits

As part of the Roman Empire, Malta was a rich commercial centre. The Roman Domus, the Roman baths, public conveniences, olive oil factories and other sites are among the Roman archaeological evidence left on the island.

Eugene Paul Teuma, in his article Possible Roman Period Salt Pans at Buġibba, gives reasons why he strongly believes that the salt pans were constructed and were in use in the days of the Roman Empire.

He states that the type of hydraulic concrete with charcoal and shreds of pottery used on the site was a recipe popular during the Roman Empire and which was lost with its fall.

When considering the importance that the Romans gave to the production of salt, it is not surprising that a number of salt pan sites may have been constructed around the islands.

Out of about 40 sites around the islands, particular interest lies in the Buġibba salt pan system and in the ones at Xgħajra and Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq.

The round pits lying amid some of the salt pans on the southern shores of Malta may be archaeological remains on the shore platform that may date back to the Roman Empire period or even earlier.

The craftsmanship in these round pits goes beyond the processes of erosion.

The cylindrical and smooth pits lie on high ground on the coastal platform. Some are protected by a stone structure and some seem to have been covered by a lid.

Together they form a cluster or a row indicating planning. They are to be found amid salt pans and are very similar to other garum pits hewn in other Mediterranean countries that were occupied during the Roman Empire.

The fact that some of these pools are submerged does not mean that they have always been so. Different studies indicate periods of different sea levels. Furthermore, in sites with phenomenally high coastal erosion, boulders up to 15 metres long with other salt pans engraved on them can be seen lying on other salt pans on the shore. This may suggest that the shore platform was much bigger and that the sea advanced over the centuries.

The round coastal rock pools form another subject in Malta’s rich archaeology that needs to be studied further and discussed. Following this analysis, sheer coincidence and weathering do not remain much on the agenda. Luckily, some coastal stretches are still in pristine condition, which allows such studies to be carried out.

What is a garum?

A salty, fish sauce, garum was a very popular delicacy with the upper classes of Roman society. Fish parts were placed in deep pits, salted and left to mature for a number of months, completely submerged in salt crystals.

The liquid extracted from this mixture was collected, stored and served to flavour food for elite guests.

The word ‘garum’ is derived from garos or garon, the fish that was originally used by the Greeks in about the 5th century BC to make sauce.

The recipe for the production of garum varied tremendously with the most popular ingredient being “guts and other parts of fish that would otherwise be considered refuse” and adding a quantity of salt in the ratio of 8:1. (Some articles also mention layers of salt two fingers thick.)

Different types of fish produced different flav­ours, with the liver offering the best taste.

The mixture would be left for months to ferment in tanks, after which the liquid- produced garum (sometimes referred to as liquamen) would be collected and stored in clay amphorae.

Garum was a very expensive delicacy and one full amphora (generally long and pointed at the bottom) could be sold for about 4,000 sesterces (a silver or gold coin of ancient Rome).

Pliny, the ancient Roman scientist and historian, reports that: “Two congii (about 1.5 gallons) of garum are sold for 1,000 sesterces, or about 4,000 sesterces per amphora.”

He adds: “Scarcely any other liquid except unguents has come to be more highly valued, bringing fame even to the nation that makes it.”

The price depended much on the type of fish used and the length of the fermentation period.

The largest garum installation in the western Mediterranean was located at Lixus, on the Atlantic coast of Mauretania in Morocco. The Black Sea was another prominent area for its production.

The place for the fermentation was often selected close to the sea where ample supplies of salt were available, with a salt pan site being the most favoured around the Mediterranean region.

The corrosive properties of the salt made the rock the best material available at the time for the storage of garum.

Special round and deep pits were dug among salt pans to serve this purpose.

Food and cure

According to Pliny, “not only did garum season fish but it was used in nearly 350 of the recipes in De Re Coquinaria of Apicius”.

Fish sauces were also used as an unguent in healing, both for humans and animals, in cases like scabies in sheep, as well as being considered a good antidote for the bite of dogs. Garum healed burns and was also prescribed as a laxative.

This article is part of a comprehensive study expected to be published this summer in a book titled Salt Pans and Salt Production of the Maltese Islands by Ms Dingli.