The Żejtun Villa and Its Ancient Landscape Three
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THE ŻEJTUN ROMAN VILLA RESEARCH CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT 60 THE ŻEJTUN VILLA AND ITS 5 ANCIENT LANDSCAPE THREE NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES Anthony Pace1), Nathaniel Cutajar2), Bernardette Mercieca Spiteri3), Christian Mifsud4) and Mevrick Spiteri5) 1) Anthony Pace, Superintendent of Cultural Heritage, Malta, [email protected] 2) Nathaniel Cutajar, Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, Malta, [email protected] 3) Bernardette Mercieca Spiteri, Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, Malta, [email protected] 4) Christian Mifsud, Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, Malta, [email protected] 5) Mevrick Spiteri, Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, Malta, [email protected] ABSTRACT In recent years, surveillance policies and fieldwork by the former Museums Department and now by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, have provided significant new insights on the landscape archaeology of the Żejtun villa and its broader environs. The landscape around what are now the modern towns and villages of Żejtun, Marsaskala, Marsaxlokk, Birżebbuġa, Ħal Għaxaq, Gudja and Tarxien, has evolved over a number of millennia into its present configuration. In ancient times, this complex landscape was an agro-industrial setting of road networks, extensive agricultural terraces, burial grounds, prominent buildings and settlements, as well as sea ports. Valleys, hills, harbours and other land formations contributed to the use of large tracts of land to support the small communities that inhabited the area during antiquity. Boundaries, if these existed at the time, were different from our modern municipal jurisdictions, as defined by the 1993 Local Council legislation. These ancient boundaries – political, economic and social in dimension – were physical and social, both dimensions now difficult to establish with absolute certainty, though perhaps easier to understand in general terms with the help of specific types of monuments and land formations. Here, we provide a brief overview of a series of archaeological discoveries which throw new light on the ancient landscape of the Żejtun area. These discoveries were made in recent decades. They include: the Late Roman and Byzantine Catacomb at Tal-Barrani, the Roman tomb cluster and field systems at Tal-Ħotba and the Roman tomb-cluster and quarries at Bulebel. The significance of each site will be briefly described, together with the current state of study, as well as an outline of the measures that have been taken for their physical conservation. INTRODUCTION economic, ritual and transportation infrastructure. !ese elements have been Maltese landscape archaeology is still in created and reworked through several its infancy. !e area comprising Żejtun generations, a factor which colours our and its environs provides a good case precise understanding of continuity and study for understanding the various ways change. Indeed given the limited territory in which ancient communities used and of the archipelago and the long history of transformed their natural environment. intense land use for subsistence purposes, !e geo-cultural morphology of this there is today hardly a tract of land on particular landscape is a complex Malta, Gozo and the smaller islands that combination of natural formations and has not been extensively modi"ed by their transformation by natural causes, human beings. Critical in this respect, and the steady millennial construction is the gradual but steady demise of of an extensive network of human antiquity, the transmission of some of settlement together with all the associated its elements into the Middle Ages, and THE ŻEJTUN ROMAN VILLA RESEARCH CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT 61 !e Żejtun Villa and its ancient landscape – three new archaeological discoveries "nally the transformation of the Medieval the intensity with which the area around and Baroque settlements into the urban Żejtun was used (Wettinger 2000). !e centres of Modern Malta. We list here large number of place names attests to salient aspects of this long period of the extensive accessibility of the land, change. and therefore of its use. !ese lands were intensely used since antiquity, with the !e historic core of Żejtun is located on Arabs then using the established agro- an elevated promontory of globigerina industrial infrastructure as the basis for limestone, at an altitude of 60m above their presence in Malta and Gozo. For sea level. !e promontory is de"ned more recent times, the importance of to the north by Wied iz-Ziju1 which the Żejtun landscape as a critical land- distinguishes Żejtun from Tarxien and based subsistence source is highlighted by other outlying high ground. !is valley various historical sources which document is now partly obscured by the Bulebel various agricultural estates essential for industrial zone and the old road that the economy of early modern times. links Tarxien and Żejtun, as well as by Examples of such agricultural estates are the widened road of Tal-Barrani. !e those of Bulebel iż-Żgħir, Bulebel il-Kbir valley meanders gently until it reaches and Barrani as documented in a 1654 the harbour of Marsaskala. To the south, property book of the Order of St. John the Żejtun promontory is marked by a (Cabreo Magisteriale). drop in the landscape which then forms the greater port area of Marsaxlokk. !e An aspect of change which requires higher ridge of Żejtun is marked by the research is the Early Modern growth Late Medieval chapel of San Girgor, and of Żejtun and its con"guration into a the important cross-junction of Bir id- major town. As happened at various Deheb. other localities, Żejtun grew considerably in the years following the li*ing of the Żejtun is strategically located between Great Siege of 1565. Today post-Medieval three important ancient harbours, that Żejtun can be appreciated in the historic of Marsa to the north, and those of centre of the town and in outlying Marsaxlokk and Marsaskala to the south. hamlets. !e expansion of Żejtun would !e area which the Arabs named Żejtun have +uctuated according to demographic was occupied since prehistoric antiquity. and economic patterns of growth, with !e megaliths of Ħal Ġinwi and the the major period of growth occurring megalithic remains at tas-Silġ date back during the nineteenth and early twentieth to the Late Neolithic, though the sites centuries. Much of this growth occured in remained in use during the Bronze Age centres that had already been established. and during later historical periods. !e During the early twentieth century, the Żejtun villa was an active settlement since built up part of Żejtun extended as far the Bronze Age, although the currently south as the areas of Bir id-Deheb and visible remains can be mainly dated to the San Girgor Chapel, and northwards up to Punic period right up to Late Antiquity. the area known as Il-Minzel (Ordnance More evidence of ancient habitation Survey Sheets 1912/14). comes from burial grounds, such as those known from San Girgor, Tal-Barrani, Tal- !is urban expansion had a negative Ħotba and Bulebel. impact on the preservation of the ancient remains within this locality. Indeed, the Various Late Medieval toponyms, such intense modern urbanisation of Żejtun as Bir id-Deheb, Tal Barrani, Tal Ħotba led to a profound change of the area. As and Bulebel il Chbir serve to highlight a result, no evident picture of the ancient THE ŻEJTUN ROMAN VILLA RESEARCH CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT 62 !e Żejtun Villa and its ancient landscape – three new archaeological discoveries Figure 1. General site plan of the Żejtun Local Council indicating the location of known Punic and Roman archaeological sites use of the Żejtun area was known until case policy decisions aimed at protecting recently. Much of what has been written the archaeological heritage. Among the about the town is based on the scarce Late adopted measures were a number of Medieval sources, namely toponyms that excavations carried out at archaeological were hardly geo-referenced in a secure sites threatened by modern construction manner, and on archival material of the and land development. Among these Early Modern and Modern periods, excavations one "nds the Late Roman and which still require much research. Byzantine Catacomb at Tal-Barrani, the ancient tomb cluster and "eld systems at Here we contribute an altogether Tal-Ħotba and the Roman tomb cluster di7erent source of information about and quarries at Bulebel.2 Żejtun. As a result of post-World War II development in the previously un- built areas, numerous archaeological TRACES OF ANCIENT remains have been unearthed. From these LAND USE: TOMBS, discoveries we are now able to present a BUILDINGS AND OTHER tentative picture of ancient land use of an ARCHAEOLOGICAL REMAINS area that is o*en di8cult to understand for lack of information, research and the Figure 1 shows the types of sites known sheer impact of modern development. at Żejtun. During the twentieth century, !e Museums Department and the a total of seventeen rock-cut tombs and a Superintendence of Cultural Heritage catacomb were unearthed across the Żejtun have implemented a number of case-by- area (MAR 1910/11, 1911/12, 1912/13, THE ŻEJTUN ROMAN VILLA RESEARCH CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT 63 !e Żejtun Villa and its ancient landscape – three new archaeological discoveries 1963, 1965, 1966; Zammit, 1909-12, 1912- typology as the other tombs. Some of the 17). At least, a total of another eighteen rock-cut tombs also contained cremation tombs were discovered in the early twenty- urns apart from inhumation burials. "rst century. !e tombs are of a Punic and Roman typology, consisting of rectangular In the grounds of the Jesus of Nazareth or in some cases cylindrical sha*s from Institute, located in this same area, a bell- which a subterranean burial chamber of a shaped silo was found sealed by two stone rectangular or oval shape is reached. blocks (Fig. 1: 19) (Museums Department File 1938-39). !e remains of animal A Christian catacomb and four rock-cut bone, including horse, dog, pig, ox, sheep tombs, discovered in 1915, 1963 and 1993, and goat together with cooking pots, were found underneath the present road amphorae and other forms of a Punic footprint of Tal-Barrani (Fig.