An iconography of insularity : a cosmological interpretation of some images and spaces in the late neolithic temples of Malta

This paper proposes a fresh model for interpreting some of the iconography and megalithic architectural forms that emerged in Malta during the Late Neolithic. Recent studies of the relationship between the Maltese archipelago and the world beyond, and between the monumental megalithic sites and their landscape setting, will inform an interpretation of some of the iconography and architectural forms that characterize these sites. Patterns in their use of spatial order, architectural devices and carved reliefs are interpreted as elements in a programmatic recreation of an island cosmology. It is suggested that the prehistoric islanders used these images and spaces to express and mediate concerns with cosmological order.peer-reviewe

Water, geomythology and cosmology in late Neolithic Malta

Water is one of the most widely encountered elements in the environment. Indispensable for most forms of life, its significance for humans is primordial and universal. Yet because it is so fluid and evanescent, it is sometimes under-represented in our readings of the material record of past behaviour. The present paper revisits one such example, where the use of water and its influence on human behaviour have until recently received little attention in the interpretation of the evidence (Bonanno 2009). The example comes from the prehistory of the Maltese archipelago. It promises to be an interesting case. Notwithstanding the considerable changes that the island environment has undergone since prehistory, one may still make reasoned inferences on where fresh water was more available. Furthermore, the remoteness of the example in time, together with the complete absence of written or oral evidence, make it an interesting case to explore some possibilities and limitations in the reconstruction of past attitudes to water from the material record alone. The present paper sets out to explore the question of attitudes to water among the Neolithic inhabitants of the Maltese archipelago, best known for the series of remarkable megalithic monuments they created during the 4th millennium BC and the first half of the 3rd millennium BC, usually referred to as ‘temples’ in the literature. The landscape setting of these monuments is considered below, followed by the hydrology of the archipelago, and some of the associated beliefs and toponyms that are documented from more recent periods. The prehistoric evidence for the use of water in different contexts is then examined against this background.peer-reviewe

Site, artefacts and landscape: Prehistoric Borg in-Nadur, Malta

A new paradigm for archaeological site management is established in Malta during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The history of how this paradigm is shaped by the British colonial context is traced. A series of key innovative measures in archaeological site management that take place from the 1880s onwards at and around Borġ in-Nadur are considered. Practices and attitudes that emerged in that seminal period have continued to pervade approaches to archaeological resource management down to the present. A paradigm shift may be required to achieve a more integrated, socially embedded and holistic stewardship of the archaeological landscape.peer-reviewe

Monuments and landscapes in Late Neolithic Malta

The imposing prehistoric buildings of the Maltese islands have long fascinated Mediterranean travellers. They have also been the subject of much archaeological study and speculation, most of which has focused on their architectural development and the technology used to construct them. Now investigation of the relationship between these impressive sites and the islands’ landscapes is yielding new insights into how the Neolithic islanders organized their world.peer-reviewe

Site, artefacts and landscape: Prehistoric Borg in-Nadur, Malta

Marsaxlokk is one of the most sheltered harbours in the Maltese archipelago, and has been exploited since the earliest known settlement of the islands. The variability of the coastal and inland topography around the harbour presents constraints as well as opportunities, which have influenced human decisions and strategies in different periods. The two key sites of Borġ in-Nadur and Tas-Silġ are compared. GIS-based Cost Surface Analysis and Least Cost Path Analysis are used to explore the different types of connectivity enjoyed by these sites. It is argued that this difference is a hitherto undiscussed factor behind the different trajectories that these sites follow in different periods.peer-reviewe

Selling space and time : the case of sejjieh dekorattiv

Sometime during the late 1980's, the weathered stones from dismantled or collapsed dry-stone walls started being gathered, and their outer surfaces were sawn away in laminae about an inch thick. Such laminae, weathered and rugged on one side, freshly cut and smooth on the other, were then glued side by side to the facades of newly-built houses. The neatly cut, white limestone ashlar masonry in which these facades, like most buildings in Malta, had been raised, was concealed beneath the collage of darkened and irregularly shaped slices of rubble. At first glance, the areas treated in this way had been transformed into a rubble wall. Ethnographic research has been conducted in San Gwann, a suburban village and Rabat, a small town. Several streets were explored in these localities in order to obtain some understanding of the distribution of sejjieh dekorattiv throughout the village or town, paying close attention to the role it plays in the context of particular facades. Fifteen informal interviews were carried out with a number of home-owners, aimed at eliciting their perceptions of sejjieh dekorattiv. This article is the first result of an ongoing research project. Important issues, such as the trends which emerge from the overall distribution of sejjieh dekorattiv throughout Malta as a whole have not as yet been tackled. The observations which follow must not be seen as definitive. They should rather be seen as an attempt to initiate discussion and investigation of this issue.peer-reviewe

Underground environments, worldviews, and sustainable stewardship

This paper examines an aspect of a value-based approach to underground built heritage (UBH). A key tool for the manager of any built heritage today is the mapping of its manifold values for different audiences, to inform their management strategy. This paper first reviews an important paradigm shift that has occurred in the humanities and in cultural heritage management, leading to the recognition of the centrality of the world views and lived experience of the different members that make up communities. Drawing on a selection of examples from the literature, it then demonstrates how many UBH sites across a wide spectrum of cultures acquired cosmological and cultic value and significance in a way that is qualitatively different to most built heritage sites above ground. The spectrum of challenges that this poses to the UBH site manager is then outlined by reviewing literature on a selection of UBH examples, from prehistoric archaeological sites to living religious sites. Some key guiding principles are proposed for the management of these different scenarios. Culturally sensitive management that respects the existing value systems of local communities is indispensable wherever such communities are present. Decision-makers need to be keenly aware of these value systems and need to recognize, empower, and complement existing traditional systems of stewardshippeer-reviewe

Reuben Grima, PhD, 2000–05

My time as a PhD student at the Institute from 2000 to 2005 was not only formative, it was also life-changing. I had already spent some years working full-time as a curator in Malta’s National Museum of Archaeology when a generous Commonwealth Scholarship made it possible for me to become a full-time student again. I arrived at the Institute in October 2000, eager not to waste a single minute, spending much of my first year voraciously sitting in on any classes that were somehow relevant to my research on Malta’s prehistoric landscape or my interest in public engagement. Life at the Institute was a heady whirlwind of debate and ideas, which extended from the tightly knit camaraderie of our research room in B53, to evenings at the Phineas Bar and many sleepless nights in the GIS Lab till daybreak woke the birds in Tavistock Square. Both my supervisors were pillars of unfailing support, and Tim Schadla-Hall and Ruth Whitehouse are still the gold standard I try to live up to in PhD supervision. On one occasion when Ruth gave me a slot on the Accordia talks, John Evans, the former director of the Institute whose work on Maltese prehistory remains a key reference, came to listen, and later over a pizza in the basement of Pizza Paradiso related some stories he had never spoken about before, about his time as a code-breaker at Bletchley Park during the Second World War. Tim welcomed me into his masters in Public Archaeology classes and the legendary field-trips that punctuated that programme, which have shaped the worldview of a generation of practitioners who are today spread around the globe.peer-reviewe

Bilateral intralobar pulmonary sequestration : a case report

Bronchopulmonary sequestration is a congenital lung malformation consisting of a non-functioning lung segment. Arterial supply to such a segment is found to be systemic rather than pulmonary, and by definition there is no communication with the tracheobronchial tree. It accounts for about 6% of all congenital pulmonary malformations. Bilateral bronchopulmonary sequestration is yet more uncommon. These malformations can be classified as either intralobar sequestration (the commoner type), or extralobar sequestration (in 14- 25%).peer-reviewe