A review of Malta’s pre-temple Neolithic pottery wares

Sites from the earliest known phases of Maltese prehistory often consist of scatters of sherds for the Għar Dalam and Skorba phases (6000–4800 BCE), and tomb contexts for the Żebbuġ phase (3800–3600 BCE). Neolithic studies are, therefore, heavily reliant on the study of pottery. Although traditional typological and seriation-based analyses of the pottery record have substantially enhanced our knowledge of Early Neolithic Malta, there is a growing appreciation of the need to go beyond these approaches to gain new insights. This study reviews the accessible literature on fabric studies on assemblages found in the Maltese Islands, presenting the state of knowledge for the pottery of the Għar Dalam, Skorba (Early Neolithic), and Żebbuġ (Late Neolithic) phases. Microphotographs of pottery wares were selected from a compilation produced for an ongoing project (the MaltaPot project) to illustrate the descriptions found in the literature. The advances made by archaeologists in studying the Maltese Neolithic pottery are reviewed, and suggestions for building on them are proposed, as archaeometric and petrographic techniques have not been applied systematically to Neolithic pottery from Malta.peer-reviewe

MaltaPot low magnification unground sections photographs

These images show the edges of early Neolithic pot sherds from the Maltese Islands under low magnification, and show the appearance of the fabric before grinding was carried out to produce a flat surface for additional research. Image names starting with 'G' are of sherds from the Ghar Dalam phase; those starting with 'S' from the Skorba phase; and those starting with 'Z' are from the Zebbug phase.</p

Small finds and lithics: reassessing the excavated artefacts and their sources in prehistoric Malta

This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7-2007-2013) (Grant agreement No. 323727)

The pottery of prehistoric Malta

This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7-2007-2013) (Grant agreement No. 323727)

Skorba

This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7-2007-2013) (Grant agreement No. 323727)

MaltaPot Għar Dalam photograph collection (MPotPhotosGD2023v1)

This collection of photographs was compiled as part of the MaltaPot project at the University of Malta. This project aims to enhance the understanding of pottery technology and provenance in Neolithic Malta, mainly dating to the Għar Dalam, Skorba (Early Neolithic), and Zebbuġ (Late Neolithic) phases. This collection presents sherds from the Għar Dalam phase, photographs, and microphotographs and lists their archaeological contexts and form. This collection was prepared thanks to the information from the National Museum of Archaeology (NMA), Malta, and the FRAGSUS project. The project used multiple techniques to characterise the pottery sherds, such as microscopy, polarised light microscope, X-Ray Fluorescence or X-Ray Diffraction. This collection presents the sherds which were not analysed using these destructive techniques, although they had a section ground flat for microphotography. Data collection was carried out between 2018-2020 by Dr Brogan. The document was compiled by 2023 Ms Richard-Trémeau. Photographs can be used if credited. This upload contains a PDF document and two zip files with the macroscopic photograph (Exterior surface) and the microphotographs.</p

MaltaPot Skorba photograph collection (MPotPhotosS2023v1)

This collection of photographs was compiled as part of the MaltaPot project at the University of Malta. This project aims to enhance the understanding of pottery technology and provenancein Neolithic Malta, mainly dating to the Għar Dalam, Skorba (Early Neolithic), and Zebbuġ (Late Neolithic) phases. This collection presents sherds from the Skorba phase, photographs, and microphotographs and lists their archaeological contexts and form. This collection was prepared thanks to the information from the National Museum of Archaeology (NMA), Malta, and the FRAGSUS project. The project used multiple techniques to characterise the pottery sherds, such as microscopy, polarised light microscope, X-Ray Fluorescence or X-Ray Diffraction. This collection presents the sherds not analysed using these destructive techniques, although they had a section ground flat for microphotography. Data collection was carried out between 2018-2020 by Dr Brogan. The document was compiled by 2023 Ms Richard-Trémeau. Photographs can be used if credited. This upload contains a PDF document and two zip files with the macroscopic photograph (Exterior surface) and the microphotographs. This upload complements the upload MaltaPot Għar Dalam photograph collection (MPotPhotosGD2023v1); 10.5281/zenodo.7941624</p

A Review of Malta’s Pre-Temple Neolithic Pottery Wares

Sites from the earliest known phases of Maltese prehistory often consist of scatters of sherds for the Għar Dalam and Skorba phases (6000–4800 BCE), and tomb contexts for the Żebbuġ phase (3800–3600 BCE). Neolithic studies are, therefore, heavily reliant on the study of pottery. Although traditional typological and seriation-based analyses of the pottery record have substantially enhanced our knowledge of Early Neolithic Malta, there is a growing appreciation of the need to go beyond these approaches to gain new insights. This study reviews the accessible literature on fabric studies on assemblages found in the Maltese Islands, presenting the state of knowledge for the pottery of the Għar Dalam, Skorba (Early Neolithic), and Żebbuġ (Late Neolithic) phases. Microphotographs of pottery wares were selected from a compilation produced for an ongoing project (the MaltaPot project) to illustrate the descriptions found in the literature. The advances made by archaeologists in studying the Maltese Neolithic pottery are reviewed, and suggestions for building on them are proposed, as archaeometric and petrographic techniques have not been applied systematically to Neolithic pottery from Malta