Archaeological excavations
sometimes turn up the remains of more than pottery
and stone artefacts. Sheep, chicken, fish and rabbit
bones - the remnants of food eaten on board ships at
the time of the Knights - were unearthed from the seabed
at Dockyard Creek, in Vittoriosa in 1999.
The find is described in the latest edition of Treasures
of Malta. Among the other items brought up were clay
pipes for the smoking of tobacco and hashish, sherds
of earthenware cookery utensils and pieces of Majolica,
the publication says.
The excavation was part of the archaeological impact
assessment for the then proposed yacht marina. The
excavation team was led by marine archaeologist Timmy
Gambin and included cultural heritage experts and members
from the university's department of archaeology.
Writing in the Christmas edition of Treasures of Malta,
Mr Gambin records that in 1993 a French archaeological
mission conducted an exploratory survey of the seabed
in the creek in Vittoriosa.
Six years later, a remote sensing project was carried
out to establish what equipment and methodology were
to be used to investigate the seabed for archaeological
finds.
Mr Gambin, a doctoral candidate in maritime archaeology
at the University of Bristol, notes that the 1,083
items brought up to the surface consisted of numerous
ceramic sherds as well as remnants of food consumed
on board vessels moored at the creek.
"Sheep, chicken, fish and rabbit bones were all
identified. Also retrieved were a variety of seeds
including those of the olive, which were the most numerous,
grape and pumpkin," Mr Gambin writes.
The author notes that while the finds were met at
about one-and-a-half metres of silt, there is still
another one-and-a-half metres before one comes to the
bedrock. He feels that once the excavations are continued,
archaeological deposits dating back to the Middle Ages
may be found.
Printed at Progress Press and published by Fondazzjoni
Patrimonju Malti in conjunction with the Malta Tourism
Authority, Treasures in Malta contains, as do the other
numbers in the series, a treasure trove of articles
that throw light on the more obscure facets of Maltese
history and culture.
This Christmas edition includes an article by Alain
Blondy on the Maltese orange which used "to curry
favour with the powerful monarchs who protected the
Order" (of St John).
Another is entitled A Drawing by Filippo Paladini
Discovered?, written by Giovanni Bonello, who identifies
a charcoal and ink sketch attributed to Paladini pasted
on the back of a drawing by Mattia Preti.
Other articles include, among others, The Kelb tal-Fenek,
Past, Present and Future by Charlotte de Trafford;
Paintings of the Great Siege at the Chateau de la Cassagne
by Anne Crosthwait and The Busuttil Collection: A Diary
of a 19th Century Artist by Donatella Coniglio.
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