A rare Arabic inscription, likely dating back to medieval times, has been discovered on the site of a Fgura social housing project, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage (SCH) has confirmed. 

The discovery was made at a site on Triq tax-Xemx u l-Qamar, Triq il-Karmnu and Triq id-Dejma in Fgura, where an ongoing social housing project will see the construction of a five-storey block with 117 housing units. 

In comments to Times of Malta, the SCH said that the script was discovered carved on a limestone prismatic stele and is probably Kufic, a calligraphic that is closely linked to early Quran transcription and architectural decorations. The slabs also include other markings that may represent symbols rather than writing. 

Typologically, the artefact is similar to a number of stelae discovered in the 20th century by Sir Temi Zammit, who discovered an Arab cemetery that had been built on top of the Domus Romana in Mdina. 

“Apart from another example found at Savina Square in Victoria in 1901, this is the only other example known to have been found outside of Rabat, making this discovery very significant and rare, both archaeologically as well as historically,” the spokesperson said. 

The discovery was made inside a natural fissure on the site that was at some point repurposed as a well with an overall depth of roughly 8.5 metres. 

The SCH believes that the artefact was most likely dumped there during historic times and, therefore, not likely to be the inscription’s primary context. However, no modern material was found within the fissure, so it is still able to provide a “secure archaeological context”, they said. 

While the script has not yet been deciphered, the SCH said it is working with an Arabic language expert at the University of Malta to translate the text and better understand the artefact’s original use. 

This, they said, will also allow researchers to assign a more accurate date to the finding. A full archaeological evaluation of the site also resulted in the discovery of silo pits, agricultural trenches and medieval pottery. 

The pottery, the SCH said, does not date to later than the 13th century and thus places the site within the medieval period. 

The SCH said that following the discovery of the archaeological remains, plans for the social housing block were amended at the basement and ground floor levels for the more significant feature of the discovery to be retained and remain permanently visible. 

All artefacts from the site have been retrieved and stored at the SCH’s repository for conversation and analysis. A full documentation exercise was carried out on-site, they added, including photography.