The Gozo Project
听
Research Aims and Current Results
The Gozo project was started in 1987 to investigate unsolved problems of the fourth and third millennium BC in Malta, the phase of temple construction. These problems were defined as 1) the reconstruction of funerary ritual (investigated through excavation at the Brochtorff Circle), 2) the understanding of settlement organisation (investigated through regional field survey and limited excavation) and 3) the investigation of environmental change (investigated through the study of environmental indicators such as molluscs).
In practice, most effort has been invested in the excavation and study of the patterns of art and mortuary ritual at the Brochtorff Circle and this is the principal focus of publication. The seven fieldwork seasons of excavation at the Brochtorff Circle, based on a unique Anglo-Maltese collaboration, were completed in 1994. The achievements comprise the substantial excavation of the largest and most intact funerary temple hypogeum discovered and analysed under modern conditions in the central Mediterranean; a sequence of 19 radiocarbon dates for the principal phases (Zebbug, Tarxien and Tarxien Cemetery); recovery of prehistoric art and architecture in context; meticulous听in situ听recording of a substantial sample of human bone. The 1994 excavation season uncovered substantial deposits of super-imposed, articulated individuals (some with simple grave-goods of cowrie shells and pottery) adding a further dimension to the complexity of human burial. There is now substantial evidence for many phases of funerary ritual, including the manipulation of human bone in various stages of articulation.
An associated project was also undertaken in collaboration with the Department of Computer Science of the University of Bristol and the University of Malta to make computerised reconstructions of the Maltese temples and subterranean mortuary structures such as the Brochtorff Circle at Xaghra.
听
Project Directors
- Prof. A. Bonanno (University of Malta);
- the late Dr Tancred Gouder (sometime director of the National Museum of Malta)
- Dr Caroline Malone
- Dr Anthony Pace (Superintendent of Cultural Heritage);
- Dr Simon Stoddart听(91探花视频);
- Dr David Trump (Cambridge).
听
Project Phase
- Publication
- Reinterpretation
A new phase is currently under development seeking to answer questions raised by the initial project. The first relates to听chronology听and the second to听
- 听Projects suitable for NERC or AHRC Studentships on听fluoride and teeth听and听animal bone.
- 听A project suitable for AHRC funding is on the听micromorphology of ritual
听
Collaborating Institutions and Project Members
- Department of 91探花视频 and Anthropology, 91探花视频
- Department of Classics and 91探花视频, University of Malta
- Heritage Malta
听
Financial Support
- British Academy
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research (91探花视频)
- Smuts Fund (91探花视频)
- Society of Antiquaries of London
听
Publications
- Malone, C.A.T., Stoddart, S.K.F. and Trump, D. 1988. A house for the temple builders. Recent investigations on Gozo, Malta.听Antiquity. 62, 297-301.
- Bonanno, A., Gouder, T., Malone, C. and Stoddart, S. 1990. Monuments in an island society: the Maltese context.听World 91探花视频听22 (2), 190-205.
- Stoddart, S., Bonanno, A., Gouder, T., Malone, C. and Trump, D. 1993. Cult in an Island Society: Prehistoric Malta in the Tarxien period.听Cambridge Archaeological Journal听3(1), 3-19.
- Malone, C., Stoddart, S. and Townsend, A. 1995. The landscape of the island goddess ? A Maltese perspective of the central Mediterranean.听Caeculus听(Papers on Mediterranean 91探花视频, Archaeological Institute, Groningen University) 2, 1-15.
- Malone, C., Stoddart, S., Bonanno, A., Gouder, T., and Trump, D. 1995. (eds.) Mortuary ritual of fourth millennium BC Malta: the Zebbug tomb from the Brochtorff Circle (Gozo).听Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society听61, 303-345.
- Malone, C. A. T., S. K. F. Stoddart, D. Trump, A. Bonanno & A. Pace 2009. (eds.)听Mortuary ritual in prehistoric Malta. The Brochtorff Circle excavations (1987-1994)听Cambridge: McDonald Institute.
听
