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Malta Archaeological Review, Nicholas Vella (ed.), Issue 9, 2008–2009 (but 2013).
The latest issue of the Malta Archaeological Review, the journal of the Archaeological Society, Malta, continues to show notable progress in production. The decision to peer-review the journal has contributed to make it even more authoritative, which reflects itself in the calibre of its contributors. The hard work of its editorial board in trying to bring it up to date seems to be bearing fruit.
In his valedictory forward, the president of the society, Anthony Bonanno, rightly underscores the varied scope of the seven papers in the journal ranging from prehistoric archaeology to Roman times, as well as the new feature, Notes & News, which includes short contributions and updates.
The two such contributions in this issue include information about the original discovery of the Roman shipwreck at Xlendi by John Wood, one of the team of British divers who had made the serendipitous discovery in the summer of 1961. He is also of the opinion that even more significant relics may lie beneath the posidonia mattes.
The other contribution by Timmy Gambin gives an account of the efforts being carried out by the Department of Classics and Archaeology at the University of Malta and California Polytechnic University to explore wells, cisterns, and water galleries on the islands. This innovative approach seeks to record the various systems used for water management, as well as train a computer engineering student in robotics. This is a field that offers many exciting possibilities for a fuller understanding of Malta’s past. The exploration of the Tas-Silġ complex proved particularly significant.
As regards papers proper, Davide Tanasi, Adjunct Professor of Archaeology and Ancient History at Arcadia University, The College of Global Studies, writes about Prehistoric painted pottery in Malta: a century later.
The Bronze Age pottery, named as ‘dribbled ware’ by David Trump, is decorated with the partial application of thick slip instead of paint. Concentrating on 2,944 items discovered in a silo at In-Nuffara, which seems to have ended as a dump for some nearby settlement, Prof. Tanasi explains that such decoration is quite unique for the archipelago, though something similar was discovered in central Sicily.
The author proposes that such ware was produced for several centuries. Its special technical features characteristics indicate particularly skilled potters whose work must have had a high value in Borġ in-Nadur rituals, of which next to nothing is known.
In her paper, Observations on the linguistic epigraphic choice in late antique inscriptions from Malta, Maria Domenica Lo Faro posits the existence of a Greek-speaking community in late antiquity, probably linked to a Jewish community, and possibly of Alexandrian origin.
The decision to peer-review the journal has contributed to make it even more authoritative
The use of Greek in surviving Maltese inscriptions indicates a Hellenised community but “could also represent a symbolic choice linked to a peculiar funerary tradition”. Latin could then have made a return with the growth of the Christian community.
Elaine Azzopardi, Timmy Gambin and Renata Zerafa write about Ancient anchors from Malta, of which there 24 surviv-ing lead stocks in the national archaeological collection.
The authors discuss the various typologies and methods of manufacture, as well as providing an extremely useful gazetteer of the stocks in the national collection which includes a brief description of type and provenance, where known.
Currently on display at the Maritime Museum is the largest lead stock found anywhere and weighs over a tonne. Its huge size, which makes it impractical to handle on board, could indicate its use as a mooring point for a marine installation, no trace of which has so far been discovered.
In his interesting paper on the floor mosaics at the Roman domus in Rabat, Antonio Caselli explains how such mosaics actually seem to regulate the flow of movement within a building and correspond to the particular function of a room.
What is actually left of the Roman town house today may give a wrong, or at least incomplete, idea of the original structure. Placing the mosaics in a logical context helps one to rediscover the original layout and use. The author’s illustration of the reconstructed domus is an intriguing indication of the original structure, and helps to make more sense of what today may look like an incoherent jumble of rooms.
The Roman period of Maltese archaeology is still not fully understood. Its architectural heritage, which one presumes to have been quite extensive, is relatively obscure due to the rampant destruction by later people and the repeated rebuilding of the prime site of the main city of Melite.
In The known unknown: identification, provenancing, and relocation of pieces of decorative architecture from Roman public buildings and other private structures in Malta, David Cardona mentions that most of the 376 fragments in local collections are mostly improperly documented and lack proper provenance.
It seems that up to the 19th century there were substantial Roman remains in Mdina which have since disappeared, re-used in ecclesiastical establishments, or ‘relocated’ in private hands.
The building of the protective tent at Ħaġar Qim may have been accompanied by some controversy, but one must admit that the structure had been suffering from serious degradation. A comparison between Jean Houel’s 18th-century sketches and modern photos make this more than obvious.
In Wind funnelling underneath the Hagar Qim protective shelter, Simon Farrugia and John Schembri scientifically analyse the wind funnelling effect that this tent is producing. There is definite proof that the tent has generally successfully controlled wind speeds through the temple, though east-south-east winds seem to be an exception.
Christopher Busuttil explains the term ‘experimental archaeology, which has been described as a “controllable imitative experiment to replicate past phenomena … in order to generate and test hypotheses to provide or enhance analogies for archaeological interpretations”. The paper also encourages experimental practices that lead to a better understanding of ancient realities, and mentions several local initiatives.
One indeed goes back to the 1950s when the BBC conducted several experiments to try to fathom the use of the mysterious cart-ruts.
Information about the society and copies of the journal, which does not seem to have been distributed in bookshops, can be obtained from the website www.archsoc.org.mt.