A small tooth
is 2,000-year-old baby discovered in an ancient burial site beneath a Rabat
school
A small tooth is almost all that remains of a
2,000-year-old baby discovered in an ancient burial site beneath a Rabat school.
Some of the human
remains unearthed beneath the St Paul’s Missionary College in Rabat
The
series of catacombs, discovered during works to extend the playing fields of
the St Paul’s Missionary College, also revealed the remains of “at least eight”
ancient island dwellers, decorative pottery – and new clues to unlocking the
secrets of Malta’s past.
The
Superintendence of Cultural heritage has been excavating the tombs for the past
few weeks, and an archaeologist and osteology have even found intact skeletons
of adults and children from the Roman period, along with a large amount of
intact pottery vessels and other delicate objects that were placed with the dead
at the time of their burial.
Some of the human remains unearthed beneath the
St Paul’s Missionary College in Rabat [Credit: The Times of Malta]
Some of the human remains unearthed beneath the
St Paul’s Missionary College in Rabat [Credit: The Times of Malta]
“The area around Rabat
is rich with remains. These tombs are the latest discovery we have made, with
some interesting contents,” Anthony Pace, the Superintendent of Cultural heritage,
told The Sunday Times of Malta.
“Oh
yes, this is just the beginning of the process. Discovering a site is
definitely a thrilling experience, but so too is analysing skulls in the labs,
for instance,” Dr Pace said. Turning to his colleague, he said: “Some of the skeletons
are beautiful, there’s no other word for them.” After a pause he added: “We’re
not crazy, we’re archaeologist”.
Walking
into the Rabat school’s grounds, children yesterday played football on a newly
surfaced pitch, the schoolhouse looming large behind them. Leading the way to
excavation works being done to extend the grounds, Dr Pace points past some
mesh-wire and plastic piping along a gravel walkway.
Some of the human
remains unearthed beneath the St Paul’s
Missionary College in Rabat [Credit: The Times of Malta]
“First
we discovered this chamber and then we found more and more,” he said, as the
newly unearthed depths of the playing
field’s boundary wall revealed hand-chiselled crypts.
Inside what looks like
a small shelf carved out of the stone, about the size of an encyclopaedia, was
one of several burial sites used for infants.
“2,000
years ago, child mortality rates were high. They would lay them to rest in
these miniature tombs, plaster it shut and then open it and use the site for a
fresh burial as soon as they could. This would often be done over and over,”
said Bernardette Mercieca Spiteri, an anthropologist studying the remains.
Some of the decorative pottery found in Rabat
So, who were these ancient people? Dr Pace shied away from calling them Maltese.
“‘Malteseness’
as we know it today is a relatively new invention. Malta would have been home
to moving people from the Mediterranean, it would have also had settlers, and
they would have considered themselves part of the empire, in this case, the
Roman Empire,” he said.
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