Season Team

• AIAC_1162 - Ghar Ix-Xih - 2005
  Located on the south-east coast of the island of Gozo and overlooking the naturally sheltered and secluded Mġarr ix-Xini bay, Għar ix-Xiħ is hardly conspicuous to the ordinary viewer. But its archaeological potential had already been realised by Italian archaeologists Ugolini and Caprino visiting the site in the 1930s and 1960s respectively. Due attention was again recently accorded to the site when it was decided to subject it to an excavation exercise in order to determine its true nature, use, and date. This excavation forms part of an archaeological survey of Mġarr ix-Xini valley. The survey is one of the projects constituting the Mġarr ix-Xini Valley Regional Park: a joint initiative of the Sannat and Xewkija Local Councils. The excavation is being carried out by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage (which is also carrying out the archaeological survey) together with the Department of Classics and Archaeology of the University of Malta and with the support of the two local councils mentioned. Starting in 2005, the excavation has been going on for the last three seasons (2005 – 7) and is planned to continue in the coming ones. On the basis of the evidence gathered so far, the site appears to have been a small rural shrine possibly serving both the agricultural community of the neighbourhood and the maritime community making use of the nearby harbour facilities. Foreign contacts are, in fact, also evident on the basis of the material retrieved. Possibly having started as a cave, the site appears to have undergone structural development to be adapted to the changing needs during its long period of use spanning from the 6th century B.C. to the 3rd century A.D. but reaching its peak during the 1st century B.C. – 1st century A.D.
• AIAC_4466 - Lago di Venere - 2015
  Pantelleria is located between Sicily and Tunisia. It has been inhabited for several millennia by a number of different cultures, each leaving a lasting impression on the landscapes and cultures of the island. One of the island’s most notable, but less well-known, phases was as a Punic settlement. Brief citations from ancient Roman sources, imply that Pantelleria was a pawn in the Punic Wars, being fully captured by the Romans in 217 BCE. The experience of conquered spaces and people at Pantelleria (Roman Cossyra) are, however, left un-discussed in the ancient sources. The findings of the Brock University Archaeological Project at Pantelleria (BUAPP) complement other investigations into the classical periods on the island. The ongoing excavations on the Acropolis of Pantelleria are revealing the remains of the Roman and Punic centers on the island near the main harbour (Schäfer et al. 2015). Also, a previous project in part of the Lago di Venere area (1998-2002) interpreted the Lago site as a Punic and Roman sanctuary (Audino, Cerasetti 2004; Cerasetti 2006). A primary goal of BUAPP is to investigate the archaeological record for evidence of the nature of cultural interaction at the proposed sanctuary site at the north-eastern corner of the Lago di Venere area. Through the survey, excavation, and finds analysis, BUAPP is developing chronological and cultural understandings of the functions of the study area. The interpretation of the site as a sanctuary must be questioned. The investigations at the Lago di Venere bear great importance for exploring the relationship between the Punic and Roman cultures. Pantelleria holds the potential for illuminating the process of cultural interaction between these two cultures in a crossroads of the Mediterranean. In 2015, BUAPP consisted of a small team including six undergraduate volunteers. During this season, four test trenches were excavated to determine the accuracy of impressions based on the results of the Ground-Penetrating Radar Survey conducted previously (Urban et al. 2015) and to establish cultural and chronological frameworks of the site. The locations of the trenches were placed in relation to possible architectural features visible in the GPR readings that were deemed critical to explore in the first phase of investigation. The trenches confirmed the general hypothesis of the ancient nature of the architecture (Murray et al. 2017). One trench in particular contained the bottom course of walls constructed of dry-stone masonry with pavimenta punica flooring. The diagnostic pottery dates primarily to the late third to early/mid second century BC, with a small amount representative of the first century BC and first century AD.
• AIAC_4466 - Lago di Venere - 2016
  In 2016, the Brock University Archaeological Project at Pantelleria (BUAPP) returned to the Lago di Venere to expand the excavation area based on the test trenches examined in the previous season with the aims of questioning the interpretation of the site as a sanctuary and beginning to define the relationship between the Punic and Roman phases. The importance of the landscape to the development of the site is also a central concern. The construction and maintenance of this site near the shore of a brackish, thermal volcanic crater-lake, and at a considerable distance from the Acropolis must be for significant reasons. One point of conjecture for the project is that the special quality of the crystal blue thermal, yet non-potable, water drew people to this location because of a potential chthonic connection. The main area of investigation consisted of extending the main test trench from the previous season that contained numerous wall and floor features. This area revealed that the architectural feature is a multi-room structure. The construction techniques of dry-stone masonry with wide wall bases and no terracotta roof tiles suggest Punic work. The absence of a clear ancient destruction layer and the presence of a substantial amount of Roman period materials suggests the possibility that this structure was constructed in the Punic period and continued to exist through the Roman period, or at least that Punic construction techniques were maintained into the Roman period. In parallel, the diagnostic pottery continued to point to the Punic and Roman periods, dating primarily from the third to century BC to the first century AD. A considerable amount of fragmented, plaster architectural decorations were found through the site; these types are also found on the Pantelleria Acropolis (Müller 2015: 465-481). Also of note is a fragment of a terracotta female votive, a marble toe, and plaster corner volute possibly from an altar. These finds in association with the architecture cautiously add to the interpretation of this area as a sanctuary. BUAPP continues to question the impetus behind the construction of the site and the potential multiple functions of the area, perhaps a combination of sacred and secular activities. The significance of the Lago di Venere site must be examined in connection with other projects on the island and its broader significance for the central Mediterranean. The location of the former edge of the lake in antiquity is still unclear. The spatial relationship between the lake and the architectural features of the site continue to be investigated. A closer dialogue is now underway to compare architectural techniques found at the Lago di Venere with the Pantelleria Acropolis and other Punic sites in Sicily and North Africa. The Lago di Venere site is also being considered as a possible context of worship at a volcanic landscape feature, which forms part of a significant field throughout Sicily and Italy.
• AIAC_684 - Zejtun Villa - 2009
  In 2006 excavation was resumed by the University of Malta. Four trenches were opened up incorporating parts of the 1972-76 excavation limit (Areas A and B), as well as previously unexcavated zones (Areas C and D). The primary aim of the project is to assess, record and publish the architectural remains and cultural material revealed in past excavations and other data arising from limited excavations on the site. An attempt will be made to recover data with which to attempt a reconstruction of the economic and environmental history of the site and its environs. Area A and its immediate surroundings produced some of the most interesting structural and diagnostic features found on site. When the University of Malta began its excavation in 2006, the majority of these features were already exposed. Such features include three floors paved using lozenge-shaped ceramic tiles, a large stone block anchor for the pressing of olives or grapes, and a large stone vat which lies towards the centre of the area. The Area B trench lies within an area that contains many of the 1970s trenches. During the recent 2006-2009 University campaigns, all the area was planned prior to any digging in order to record all the old trench limits. A series of ashlar and dry stone masonry walls were uncovered. Analysis of the pottery excavated from one of the foundation trenches have revealed that the walls were liad down sometime in the 4th century BC. Area C is located to the south of the site. In the previous excavations digging in trench C was only limited to some parts of the trench. Understanding the limit of excavation reached during the previous excavations was one of the main tasks during the first two seasons of digging. The ashlar walls revealed in Area B were found to continue running into Area C. It is likely that the orthagonal walls cris-crossing the site, located in trenches B and C, form part of a sub-terranian structure. Construction material filling the deposits and the lack of any floor levels, above and in between these walls supports the interpretation that these walls belonged to the foundations of an overlying structure which no longer exists. The fourth trench, D, is located to the southern part of the site. A large water cistern was reported to have been discovered during past excavations. No previous excavations were carried out here, because the investigation of the water cistern was considered to be too risky to undertake. During the University of Malta campaigns the cistern was relocated and excavation of the deposits surrounding the cistern-head were carried out. A series of rock-cut channels were revealed leading towards the cistern’s opening, with one of them containing an intact drain pipe complete with its mortar _in situ_. In 2008 and 2009 the excavation team concentrated on emptying the cistern of its deposits.