An archaeological team is digging through waste material dumped thousands of years ago at a site in Taċ-Ċawla, Victoria, where it is thought the first Gozitan village stood.

The team is led by Caroline Malone, professor of prehistory at the School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology at Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland,

The archaeologists dug and sifted through the waste generated by people who lived in the area at the time to scientifically gather information on their social and economic way of life.

During the dig, which began in March, parts of the walls of a sizeable house were discovered, as were pieces of kitchen pottery from the Żebbuġ, Ġgantija and Roman phases, and bones of animals reared by the first Gozitans. The archaeologists found that while the inside of the house was kept clean, waste was thrown just outside its walls.

The project forms part of the Fragsus programme and involves researchers from the University of Malta, Queen’s University, Cambridge University, the National Museum of Archeology and Heritage Malta’s Superintendance of Cultural Heritage.

Malone is the overall director and principal investigator of the European Research Council-funded project. The Cambridge team is headed by Simon Stoddart, who focuses on landscape, Nick Vella from the University of Malta heads the team focusing on later landscapes and environment, Chris Hunt of Queen’s University leads the environmental reconstruction team, supported and assisted by Anthony Pace from the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage and Katya Stroud and Sharon Sultana from Heritage Malta.

The team comprises some 19 senior scholars, about 10 post-doctoral researchers and this year, about 50 students and specialists have worked together on the site in Gozo.

More fieldwork is planned for next year.