Although documentation shows that Gozo once hosted a thriving Roman community, the island has very few archaeological remains to show for it.

In light of this, Anthony Bonanno – one of three speakers at a seminar being held today – is calling for greater efforts to preserve local heritage.

The seminar, organised by the Archaeological Society Malta at Circolo Gozitano in Victoria, will focus on Għar Gerduf, the only surviving Roman catacombs in Gozo. The paleochristian hypogea in Kerċem recently came under threat from new development.

But the area around the catacombs was last summer spared development after the Planning Authority revoked planning permission for a two-storey house.

While there is documentation of a thriving Roman community, there are few remains

Head of Curatorial Affairs at Heritage Malta Godwin Vella and assistant lecturer Adrian Mifsud will address the seminar, starting at 11am and including a site visit.

Prof Bonanno, from the Department of Classics and Archaeology, will speak about “An island of contrasts and surprises: the general Roman backdrop to the Għar Gerduf burial site”.

Prof Bonanno said the Roman community, boasting an advanced municipal administration, was documented in a series of inscriptions spread across the Citadella. Some no longer exist but were recorded by different authors along the centuries.

One such inscription, which provides a glimpse of life in those times and is now preserved at the Museum of Archaeology in Gozo, was situated below a statue of an imperial lady called Livia.

The statue, immortalising the wife of the first emperor, was financed by a Gozitan woman, Lutatia. In a male-dominated society, Lutatia stood out by funding this monument herself. Additionally, the inscription described Lutatia as a priestess of Livia, who was honoured as a goddess.

But this picture of a lively community contrasts sharply with what survives of Roman funerary remains and architecture in the whole of Gozo. Għar Gerduf seems to be the exception, but is unfortunately in a very bad state. In Gozo, heritage seems to have been treated much worse than in Malta, and it was worrying that remains unearthed during construction work in various parts of the Gozitan capital and its surroundings were not recorded.

“This is why the island is one of contrasts: while there is documentation of a thriving Roman community in Gozo, there are few surviving remains.”