Publisher's Synopsis
This collection of essays, by leading scholar and academic Professor Mario Buhagiar, brings together in a single volume a select miscellany of studies which focus primarily on Bronze Age, Punico-Roman, Early Christian and Byzantine archaeology and history filtered through a synthesis of the archaeological, documentary, and art historical evidence. Its main strength is the contextualisation and informed analysis of the iconographic and artistic source material. The essays include: •The Fortified Bronze Age Settlements of the Maltese Islands •Two Archaeological Sites: Ras ir-Raheb and Ras il-Wardija •Roman Malta: A Review of the Archaeological Source Material •The St Paul Shipwreck Controversy: An Assessment of the Source Material •St Paul's Shipwreck and Early Christianity in Malta •The Early Christian Cemeteries: An Overview •The Bingemma Necropolis •The Jesuits' Hill Archaeological Site on the Grand Harbour •The Late Roman and Early Christian Hypogea of Tarxien and Casal Paola •Late Roman and Early Christian Burial Sites in the Zebbiegh-Mgarr and Birkirkara-Has Sajjied Districts •The Funerary Triclinia of the Maltese Catacombs •The Iconography of the Maltese Rock-Tombs: Romano-Punic, Early Christian and Byzantine •The Rock-Engravings and Architectural Decoration of the Romano-Punic and Early Christian Hypogea •The Xaghra ta' Santa Duminka Rock-Tombs: Reflections on Maltese Early Christian Art •The Early Christian and Byzantine Site at Abbatija tad-Dejr: Archaeological and Art Historical Insights •The Jewish Catacombs of Roman Melite •Early Christian and Byzantine Malta: Archaeological and Textual Considerations •The Early Christian Remains at Tas-Silg and San Pawl Milqi: A Reconsideration of the Archaeological Evidence •Gozo in Late Roman, Byzantine and Muslim Times.
