Season Team

• AIAC_2565 - Gheriexem (RBT 2009 - 2009
  Archaeological Remains at Gheriexem Street, Rabat (Malta) Archaeological remains were unearthed during renovation works within a 19th Century house in Gheriexem Street, one of the historical quarters of Rabat (Malta). The remains were investigated in May of 2009 by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage. The archaeological remains were uncovered within a very small area of the house, measuring 3m by 2.5m. Notwithstanding the small area investigated, important structural remains from the Phoenician and Punic periods were identified and documented. This was the first instance in which Punic domestic structures from the ancient city of Melita could be investigated stratigraphically. The results obtained by means of the stratigraphic investigation were further elaborated by means of analysis of the ceramic finds by Dr. B. Bechtold, which confirmed that the remains dated to between the 7th and the 4th Century B.C. Phoenician occupation – The oldest stratigraphy identified on site consisted of pockets of clay found over the bedrock, particularly within shallow depressions within the rock’s surface. This deposit could not be related to any structural remains identified on site. Ceramics retrieved from this deposit date to the 7th/6th century B.C. indicating a Phoenician occupation of this part of Rabat since Archaic times. This early, Phoenician occupation of Rabat is further confirmed by other recent investigations close to the Gheriexem area. Punic 5th / 4th Century B.C. – The next phase uncovered on site consisted of two walls and two plaster floors. The first wall was built of roughly cut stone blocks lying on an East-West axis. The wall was uncovered to a length of about 2m and survived in part up to two courses in height. The second wall was built of large, regular stone blocks and was oriented on a North-West to South-East axis. The first wall lay at 90º to the second, in a ‘T’ pattern. Parts of two mortar floors were uncovered to the north and south of the Wall 1. Both floors were very well constructed and were set over a preparation layer made of sand, stone and crushed plaster. The north floor was a pale orange in colour and was constructed of pounded ceramic fragments into the mortar base, similar to a cocciopesto. The south floor had a polished grey finish. The ceramics found within the floor preparation layers date to between the 5th and 4th Century B.C. Later occupations – The Punic structures were badly damaged by the construction of a house, probably in the 19th Century. Furthermore the modern construction entirely removed any archaeological remains that may have lain over the Punic structures. Amongst the residual ceramics found within the foundation layers of the house were various Roman and Medieval sherds.
• AIAC_684 - Zejtun Villa - 2006
  The Roman villa lies within the grounds of the Carlo Diacono state secondary school for girls in Żejtun. Traces of ancient masonry were discovered in 1960 when land was being cleared for the construction of a new village school. Archaeological excavations were taken up in 1964 when a large cistern with water channels leading to it was uncovered, together with a stone paved area. The cistern, whose roof was supported on three arches, contained an accumulation of debris. In 1972 excavations were resumed, _revealing_ various parts of the stone apparatus used in Roman times for the production of olive oil. These include a large stone block used as counterweight for the pressing wooden beam, a section of the press bed, and a stone vat. A second cistern was discovered, as well as two rock-cut “silo-pits” containing Bronze Age pottery. Short excavation campaigns were conducted up to 1976 showing that the remains belong to a typical Roman rustic villa containing a residential area with an area for pressing olive oil. A detailed report of the excavations was never published.
• 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.