San Pawl Milqi site excavations

Davide Locatelli, of the Italian archaeological mission to Malta, gave a very interesting and informative talk on the excavations that the mission have been doing at San Pawl Milqi over a number of years. It is a pity that many of the persons who should have been interested in the presentation were not in fact present.

What has come out most strikingly at this conference was the very rapid deterioration of most of the stone artefacts at this site ever since they were uncovered in the 1970s. Some of the most important features have almost been lost completely while others are hardly recognisable. The attempt to temporarily cover them with wooden shelters has not been a success at all.

It is natural for archaeologists to want to continue exploring such an important site and to try and find some more clues to the very important history of the site. But the site also needs conservation or otherwise we will have nothing to show in the site in a very short time.

To my mind I have no doubt that parts of the site, which has already been well excavated, should be well documented and recovered. There is no alternative. The quality of the globigerina, as Dr Locatelli explained, is of a very inferior quality and there is no way that the artefacts will be saved within a very short period.

The origin of this deterioration is the fact that the site was abandoned to itself in between the two excavation periods of the 1970s and in recent years. As so many of our archaeological sites, San Pawl Milqi was simply abandoned. Rather than pointing fingers we should take immediate action to save what still exists.

The talk by Dr Locatelli was the last activity that was organised by Rosanna Cravenna, the director of the Italian Cultural Institute, who is retiring. Her activity in Malta over these few years has been very intense and she has contributed substantially to an increase in cultural contacts between Malta and Italy.

She had worked very hard indeed to ensure that Malta continues to receive important artists and performers over the years, plus the usual assistance to scholars studying in Italy. Through her work she has contributed substantially to local efforts and for this we will remain forever grateful.