https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/41655 2026-04-16T04:26:08Z 2026-04-16T04:26:08Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/127862 2024-10-23T07:05:30Z 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Cult and continuity : a religious biography of the Maltese archipelago from the Neolithic up till 535 CE Abstract: This study is concerned with the 'religious biography' of the Maltese islands from a long-term perspective. This research analyzes the islands' religious development in terms of the (dis)continuity of religious activities from the Neolithic period until the incorporation of Malta into the Byzantine Empire in 535 CE. This study will focus on the period before the islands' incorporation into the Byzantine Empire, so as to include the early forms of Christianity and the end of the Roman Empire, a clearly defined temporal scope and still a period large enough to be able to recognise patterns. This temporal approach will identify and explain diverse religious traditions, as well as highlight regional developments through the continuous use of select cult sites as well as the associated cultic practices. The Maltese archipelago, located to the southeast of Sicily, lies well situated in the centre of the Mediterranean (figure 1. 1). While the Maltese islands only cover 314 square kilometers (Malta 243 km2, Gazo 69 km2 and Cornino 2 km2) (Trump 1972, 13-15), a remarkably diverse history and high levels of connectivity between the islands and other regions are observable. Owing to their geographical location, the islands were subject to many different cultural and political encounters, ranging from economic exchange to fully-fledged colonial domination. From the Early Neolithic until modem times the islands have been home to a great number of different people, ushering in different cultural phases, which are often chronologically distinct and clearly reflected in the islands' material heritage. During this extensive period, from the Neolithic to the Byzantine era, many different influences from various geographical regions and diverse political systems affected the religious activities on the islands. [...] Description: M.A.ARCHAEOLOGY

2013-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/101112 2022-08-31T07:21:04Z 1975-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Portraiture on Roman historical relief up to the age of Septimius Severus Abstract: The purpose of this thesis is to bring together and study all the portraits, Imperial and otherwise caved on a selection of the most important Roman commemorative reliefs from the earliest surviving specimen to the reign of Septimius Severus. The reliefs are examined singly in chronological order in the main section of the thesis. In order to establish more objectivity which of the figures deserve to be considered as portraits, a survey is made, wherever possible, of all the figures. These are examined in the light of a set of criteria laid down in the introduction, such as a function, position and individualized features. Characterization and individualization in facial features are emphasized by comparison with the standardised facial types of the non-portrait figures. Wherever portrait identification have been previously proposed, their validity is investigated. In those cases where identifications are already established by means of other existing portraits on coins and in the round, comparisons are made in order to detect which of the known types are followed and to underline the iconographic, stylistic and technical differences. Controversial datings of the reliefs and the monuments to which they belong are also discussed against any chronological data provided by their portraiture. The survey is preceded by an introduction which sets down the method of investigation and the criteria used in order to distinguish portrait from non-portrait figures. In the conclusion these figures are classified and their development outlined. A discussion of a number of problems emerging from the study of single reliefs is also included. Description: PH.D.ARCHAEOLOGY

1975-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/41689 2019-03-29T02:24:28Z 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The role of Malta in prehistoric Mediterranean exchange networks Abstract: The Maltese archipelago, made up of five small islands, is located almost exactly in the middle of the Mediterranean. From the Phoenician period to the modern day, Malta, because of its central location and excellent harbors, has been integral to pan-Mediterranean exchange, communication, and military endeavors. However, the earliest long-distance Mediterranean trade networks between east and west barely reached these islands. This thesis investigates long term trends in prehistoric Maltese exchange networks in order to illuminate how and why the Maltese did not participate more actively in early exchange networks. It also explores the nature of Bronze Age exchange networks between the eastern and central Mediterranean from the often overlooked perspective of the periphery. Description: M.A.CLASSICS

2007-01-01T00:00:00Z