The intriguing life of Maltese archeologist and doctor Sir Temi Zammit is recounted in a set of two volumes titled Zammit of Malta launched yesterday.

The highly researched volumes are authored by Roger Ellul-Micallef, a professor of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics at the University of Malta.

Prof. Ellul-Micallef is also the author of many peer-reviewed papers published in leading clinical and scientific journals.

He is interested in the history of medicine, particularly in the development of the Maltese medical tradition, and has contributed several papers on this topic, both in locally published books and in foreign journals.

Sir Temi was born in 1864 at a time when Malta was an important British naval base.

During his time, incredible poverty alternated with periods of economic prosperity that were often brought about by war. The social, economic and religious conditions he experienced were later to serve as the setting of many of the short stories he wrote in Maltese.

Coming from a very humble family background, Sir Temi graduated from the University’s Faculty of Medicine and Surgery. He was was sent to complete his postgraduate studies in chemistry in Paris and later in London.

Soon after returning to Malta, in 1904, he was appointed member of the Mediterranean Fever Commission as the representative of the Maltese Government. His discovery, in collaboration with others, of how undulant fever (brucellosis) is transmitted secured for him an international reputation.

In 1905, he was appointed to the chair of chemistry at the University of Malta, a post he filled until his appointment as Rector in 1920.

During all this time, his interest in Malta’s ancient past never waned.

He burst on to the island’s archaeological scene at the beginning of the 20th century and continued to dominate it right up to his death in 1935. He completed the excavation of the Ħal Saflieni hypogeum by 1910, excavated a number of archaeological sites and tombs and, between 1915 and 1919, methodically unearthed the Tarxien neolithic temples.

The books, published by Allied Publications, are available from leading stationers and booksellers around Malta and Gozo at the recommended retail price of €52.

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