Xaghra Stone Circle in the limelight

The Xaghra Stone Circle and its megalithic remains, which fascinates visitors and archaeologists alike, will be the subject of a seminar to be held at the Ministry for Gozo, in Victoria on Saturday.

The seminar is being held by Heritage Malta in collaboration with the Ministry for Gozo. The keynote speakers will be Simon Stodart and Caroline Malone, who excavated the circle between 1987 - 1994 in a project by the then Museums Department in Malta and the universities of Cambridge, Bristol and Malta.

The megalithic remains were first recorded by Jean Houel and excavated by Otto Bayer. The circle was immortalised by the water colourist Charles de Brochdorff who painted it in 1824 during the excavations by Bayer. In fact, it is also known as the Brochdorff Circle. The site was located again in the 1960s by Joe Attard Tabone, a researcher in prehistory.

Findings indicate that the site was in use between 4100-3800 BC, although the main part was a hypogeum used at the time of the Ggantija temples.

Other speakers at the seminar will be archaeologist Anthony Bonanno, Anthony Pace and Mr Attard Tabone.

The seminar will be officially inaugurated by Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech and closed by Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono.

Limited to 100 participants, attendance is strictly on a first-come-first-served basis.

A Lm10 registration fee includes a lecture on site following the seminar. Transport will be provided at no additional cost from Mgarr harbour to Victoria and back, including transfer to Xaghra for the field lecture. Participants are advised to catch the 9 a.m. ferry from Cirkewwa to arrive in time for the seminar.

For further information contact Sharon Sultana at the National Museum of Archaeology on 2123 3871; e-mail sharon. sultana@gov.mt or Pierre Cassar at Heritage Malta on 2295 4323; e-mail pierre.cassar@gov.mt

Thursday is the booking deadline.