A newly discovered late Punic-Roman rock-cut tomb at Limestone Heritage, Siggiewi (Malta)

At Siggiewi, in the area known as Ta' Zagi, situated at a short distance from and overlooking Wied Xkora is a recently discovered rock-cut tomb which was at some point in its history refashioned into a water cistern (GR 49738/67965) (Fig. 1). The tomb is located within the grounds of the Limestone Heritage park, and was recently integrated in the cultural itinerary of its visitors. A request for the study of the tomb was made by Mr Emanuel Baldacchino, the Managing Director of Limestone Heritage, to one of us (NCV). A survey of the tomb was carried out and a set of drawings were produced by the other one of us (MS) (Fig. 2). The aim of this short contribution is to present the results of the survey.peer-reviewe

Cloaking by coating: How effectively does a thin, stiff coating hide a soft substrate?

From human tissue to fruits, many soft materials are coated by a thin layer of a stiffer material. While the primary role of such a coating is often to protect the softer material, the thin, stiff coating also has an important effect on the mechanical behaviour of the composite material, making it appear significantly stiffer than the underlying material. We study this cloaking effect of a coating for the particular case of indentation tests, which measure the `firmness' of the composite solid: we use a combination of theory and experiment to characterize the firmness quantitatively. We find that the indenter size plays a key role in determining the effectiveness of cloaking: small indenters feel a mixture of the material properties of the coating and of the substrate, while large indenters sense largely the unadulterated substrate

A face from the past : death ritual in Punic Malta

On 19th January 1918 the curator of the Valletta museum, Themistocles Zammit, was summoned to a rocky plateau outside Rabat (Malta) to inspect two rock-cut tombs that had been discovered there by accident (Fig. 1) . This was not the first discovery in the area of Qallilija (previously known as Kallilija). In July of the previous year, Zammit had excavated and recorded another tomb , whereas in the autumn of 1912 at least eight tombs had been investigated together with one each in 1914 and 1916 . What was unique about the 1918 find, however, was the discovery of a face sculpted in relief inside one of the tombs.peer-reviewe

Trunkless legs of stone : debating ritual continuity at tas-Silġ, Malta

An Index follows this Chapter.Like the traveller from an antique land in Percy Shelley's sonnet 'Ozymandias', it is a pair of trunkless legs of stone that caught the attention of the present writer and inspired the title of this paper. The damaged statue I have in mind was discovered by Italian archaeologists at the site of Tas-Silġ in 1964 and is at present exhibited at the National Museum of Archaeology in Malta (Ciasca 1965: 57; Mallia 1965: 75-76) [Figures 1 & 2]. It represents a figure sculpted in high relief from a rectangular block of soft globigerina limestone, measuring 1.14 m. high, 0.49 m. wide, and 0.47 m. deep [Figures 3 & 4, plate 1a]. The figure wears a skirt and stands on short and swollen calves above a low plinth decorated with running spirals on a pitted background with a border round the top. The feet are partly damaged but the toes of the right foot are visible. Above the waist the damage increases in extent and in depth and most of the thorax is missing; enough of the arms survive, however, to show that they were held across the waist below two folds of the abdomen. Francis Mallia, then curator of the National Museum, was responsible for the publication of the statue: he dated the sculpture to the Tarxien phase, now known to have ended about 2600 cal BC, and maintained that the scars on the surface were 'made by the blade of a farmer's plough in going over the relic year after year and hitting its most prominent parts' (Mallia 1965: 75).peer-reviewe

La Geografia di Tolomeo e le rotte marittime mediterranee

Se percorriamo una carta del Mediterraneo balza subito agli occhi uno spazio litorale ricco di porti e approdi, capi e promontori, isolotti e stretti, spazi dove il contatto tra la terra e il mare avviene in modo netto. Ci sono poi le acque che bagnano questo spazio, acque costiere e quel- le di alto mare, spazi navigabili che hanno permesso il contatto tra popoli su sponde diverse del bacino mediterraneo. Nella nostra carta mancano però le linee che tracciano questi con- tatti millenari, le rotte lungo le coste e attraverso i mari. Mancano, insomma, l’equivalente delle strade, i ponti, i sentieri, le strutture visibili di una rete complessa di viabilità, che per- mettono agli storici del paesaggio di capire le dinamiche di un territorio attraverso i tempi. Questo studio si propone di gettare luce sulle rotte marittime tramite una fonte a prima vista inusuale – la Geografia di Tolomeo, la quale racchiude nell’elenco di coordinate un processo di trasformazione cartografica dello spazio osservato, descritto e vissuto dalle genti di mare. Nell’ambito dell’progetto ANSER, questo studio vuole anche porre la problematica della valorizzazione delle rotte marittime, linee intangibili sulla nostra carta del Mediterraneo.peer-reviewe

Older gay men and active ageing: unpacking narratives

This chapter illuminates the experiences of gay men living in Malta who are a marginalised community within the ageing population. There is a growing area of empirical evidence that highlights the unique perspectives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older people. As a result of historical, social and cultural contexts the ageing LGBT community have, until relatively recently, tended to be wholly invisible in gerontological and geriatric research (Giunta & Rowan, 2015; Harley & Teaster, 2016). The research evidence demonstrates that the intersection of multiple identities in LGBT ageing are combined with risk factors which include significant health disparities, heightened exposure to discrimination and victimisation and the fear of and potential challenges in accessing culturally responsive environments (Higgins et al., 2011; Hafford-Letchfield et al., 2018). Despite these adversities, LGBT older people have shown remarkable resilience and strengths which can be harnessed when engaging in discourses of active ageing (Hash & Rogers, 2013; Vella, 2013). Substantial achievements in legislative and human rights within many states in Europe and the increasing visibility of LGBT older people have certainly softened attitudes and promoted their recognition. However, the life stories, relationships and culture of older LGBT people can often be overlooked by those with responsibilities for promoting wellbeing in later life and providing direct support. The use of narrative and biographical approaches to inquiry within research with LGBT older people can provide a useful tool for engaging with these experiences, and for meaning-making to try to understand in greater depth the complexities and cultural experiences of growing old, so that strategies can be developed at all different levels and for different communities (Ray et al., 2008). Within gerontology, for example, narratives are used as direct agents for achieving social change by drawing on humanistic and critical studies of ageing. The study reported herein drew on a biographical narrative approach to explore the experiences of five older gay men living in Malta aged 45-60 years old and in particular how they negotiated their sexual identity and exercised agency in their relationships with others. This approach is particularly relevant because it can be woven into public policy, as it responds to issues of ageing faced at a societal level (Clark, 2011). Research into lived experience of individuals facilitates our understanding of both the inner and the outer worlds of “historically-evolving persons-in-historically-evolving situations” (Wengraf, 2001 : 1). A narrative approach to researching with older gay men can provide a structure for exploring the stories and sub-stories in relation to Maltese and broader policy discourse and for identifying a better foundation for practice. This chapter reviews the broader literature for clarification of who LGBT older people are and how their sexual and gender minority status influences social relationships from an interdisciplinary perspective. It captures some key demographic and epidemiological factors contributing to LGBT ageing experiences including those specific to the Maltese context. This public picture enables us to move to the private realm of ageing in the gay community as seen through the five individuals who participated in this study. The chapter concludes by proposing a number of recommendations for policies, principles and practices which have the potential to engender a more inclusive approach to active ageing in Malta

Legislating, protecting, knowing : legal issues and cultural heritage in the Maltese Archipelago

‘They used to see this woman carrying a large stone on her head. She had a baby ... some say that she carried her baby in her arms, others that she carried the baby in a pocket of her dress, others that the baby was placed in a sling across her body; in her pocket were more than 300 square metres worth of broad beans; she also had four kilograms of flax; when she walked she ate beans, worked the flax, and steadied the stone on her head. In Gozo she built the small stone hut at Ta’Ċenċ, called Id-Dura tal-Mara. From there she carried the stones to Ġgantija, in Xagħra, as she had carried the standing stone to Qala, and the stones to Borġ Għarib near Għajnsielem. On the Ta’ Ċenċ heights, on the windswept plateau, there is a construction similar to Ġgantija, and along the edge there are remains of many stones forming a wall. Even these were carried by this woman. About the standing stone they say that it was carried by a woman one and a half times taller than the stone. She used to climb over it to work flax. In her pockets she could hold more than 600 square metres worth of broad beans.’peer-reviewe

Copy or authentic : analysis of a Phoenician gold ring from the National Museum of Archaeology, Valletta, Malta

The present work is a study of a Phoenician finger ring from the collection of the National Museum of Archaeology, Malta. The item was first described by the museum’s director Themistocles Zammit in 1925, and is believed to date to the 6th century BC. The ring consists of two stirrup-shaped hoops, which can be worn separately or fitted together and worn as a single piece. Inscribed on the bezel surface is a seafaring vessel. Zammit described the artefact as manufactured in pure gold, quoting its mass as 9.65 g. The ring in the collection fits Zammit’s description but differs significantly in weight. The aim of this paper is throw light on the authenticity of this ring using documentary sources and non-invasive scientific techniques of analysis. Optical and electron microscopy allowed a thorough description of the manufacturing technique, while the material analysis was conducted via energy dispersive spectrometry. As a result of these analyses, it was concluded that the ring is not authentic, but is most probably a copy, possibly commissioned by Zammit himself.peer-reviewe

Archeologia e fascismo negli archivi di Luigi Maria Ugolini

The rediscovery of the archives related to the research carried out in Malta by L. M. Ugolini on behalf of the Regime, together with the study of related documentation, allows us to reconstruct how Prehistory came to be used in the Twenties to justify Italian territorial aspirations in the Mediterranean. These theories contradicted Nordist claims that it was the Aryans who brought ci- vilization to the Mediterranean; they also put to rest the outdated view that the Phoenicians were responsible for the megalithic temples of Malta. In the course of his life, Ugolini acted as a voice of propaganda for the Regime. However, as staunch believer of Mediterraneanism, he worked tirelessly to highlight the grandeur of prehistoric cultures throu- ghout the Mediterranean, and sought archaeological evidence to support the anthropological theories of G. Sergi on the origins of the Mediterranean race.peer-reviewe