Book Description

This collection of essays, by leading scholar and academic Professor Mario Buhagiar, brings together in a single volume a select miscellany of studies which focus primarily on Bronze Age, Punico-Roman, Early Christian and Byzantine archaeology and history filtered through a synthesis of the archaeological, documentary, and art historical evidence. Its main strength is the contextualisation and informed analysis of the iconographic and artistic source material. The essays include: - The Fortified Bronze Age Settlements of the Maltese Islands - Two Archaeological Sites: Ras ir-Raheb and Ras il-Wardija - Roman Malta: A Review of the Archaeological Source Material - The St Paul Shipwreck Controversy: An Assessment of the Source Material - St Paul's Shipwreck and Early Christianity in Malta - The Early Christian Cemeteries: An Overview - The Bingemma Necropolis - The Jesuits' Hill Archaeological Site on the Grand Harbour - The Late Roman and Early Christian Hypogea of Tarxien and Casal Paola - Late Roman and Early Christian Burial Sites in the Zebbiegh-Mgarr and Birkirkara-Has Sajjied Districts - The Funerary Triclinia of the Maltese Catacombs - The Iconography of the Maltese Rock-Tombs: Romano-Punic, Early Christian and Byzantine - The Rock-Engravings and Architectural Decoration of the Romano-Punic and Early Christian Hypogea - The Xaghra ta' Santa Duminka Rock-Tombs: Reflections on Maltese Early Christian Art - The Early Christian and Byzantine Site at Abbatija tad-Dejr: Archaeological and Art Historical Insights - The Jewish Catacombs of Roman Melite - Early Christian and Byzantine Malta: Archaeological and Textual Considerations - The Early Christian Remains at Tas-Silg and San Pawl Milqi: A Reconsideration of the Archaeological Evidence - Gozo in Late Roman, Byzantine and Muslim Times