https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/6846 2026-04-08T11:30:36Z 2026-04-08T11:30:36Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/76351 2021-05-27T07:44:22Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: A selection from the magna catechesis of St Theodore the studite, housed at Madrid's national library of Spain. : edition, translation and commentary Abstract: lt all started with my supervisor eagerly acquiescing to my wish to work at some Classics-related subject matter of peripheral standing for my M.A. thesis, since I was disinclined to get myself to grips with a dominant topic that had already been taken in hand over and over again. Accordingly, after a wide consultation with my supervisor, Professor Horatio C. R. Vella, and also with Professor Stanley Fiorini, formerly Head of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Malta and presently one of the chief exponents of Maltese Medieval History, who kindly offered to give a helping hand in this regard, I decided not only to set my eyes on a post-classical Greek personage and his writings, but also to go in for such an enterprise by availing myself of primary sources. Description: M.A.CLASSICS

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/6851 2017-09-26T07:57:36Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The menhirs of prehistoric Sardinia. Volume 1 Abstract: The scope of the dissertation is a study of the various types of menhirs from prehistoric Sardinia. The term ―men-hir literally means long stone (Breton men- stone, hir- long). Menhirs are monoliths of various forms, either worked or natural, which are vertically inserted into the ground and are traditionally attributed a sacred or funerary function. There are different types of menhirs, such as aniconic menhirs, anthropomorphic menhirs and statue-menhirs. The study does not refer to one type of menhir alone but departs from the consideration that different types of menhirs are often found in the same archaeological contexts, or form part of the same menhir groups or menhir alignment. Consequently, no menhir type was omitted in this study. The term ―prehistoric‖ is applied loosely since, as will be argued, dating the menhirs is fraught with difficulties related both to the nature of the evidence being discussed and the knowledge of the chronology of prehistoric Sardinia more generally. The main aim of this dissertation is to present and analyse the menhirs in a systematic and explicit way. The major challenge has been to create an exhaustive catalogue of all menhirs, as a basis for presenting the data and studying the results within a clear framework of interpretation. To date, a detailed and systematic study conducted in the manner chosen here has not been carried out for the menhirs of prehistoric Sardinia. Furthermore, although much information is available stemming from studies conducted between the 1950s and 1990s, most of the literature is in Italian, and many of the books related to the menhirs are published in Sardinia, primarily for a Sardinian readership, and are difficult to obtain or purchase. This exercise is aimed to remedy the current situation by bringing together the data in a systematic manner. Description: M.A.ARCHAEOLOGY

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/6847 2017-09-26T07:53:48Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Megalithism and monumentality in prehistoric North Africa. Volume 1 Abstract: The megalithic tombs of the Maghreb have, for long, been the subject of scholarly debate and speculation. Along the course of time, various interpretations were put forward, not only on the tombs' origins and construction, but also on the culture of the people that built them. Nevertheless, these funerary monuments, much like the rest of African archaeology, were largely neglected at the time when great European scholars were formulating their hypotheses on megalithic structures in Europe and the Mediterranean. Thanks to the extensive work of Gabriel Camps which appeared in the early 1960s, these tombs found their place in archaeological literature along with more concrete interpretations concerning the people that allegedly built them: the Berbers. Fifty years on, however, these interpretations are leaving much to be desired and are in need of review. This dissertation revisits the data that were discovered and used by Gabriel Camps and other scholars and explores new ways in which these could be interpreted, in the light of more modern archaeological thought. One way in which this is done is by defining megalithism and monumentality in the North African context. A comparative method is adopted using the results of research on Saharan monuments. Whilst aspects of earlier theories are retained, some new interpretations are proposed, particularly in relation to the lifestyle and socio-economic context of the builders of the Maghrebian tombs. In contrast to the ideas of the earlier scholars, this study demonstrates how common traits can be identified between the data-sets of the Maghreb and the Sahara and, as a result, how the former monuments may be linked to transegalitarian communities within a pastoral, nomadic context. Furthermore, it portrays the megalithic tombs of the Maghreb as part of an indigenous and autonomous development which unfolded during Late Neolithic North Africa, thus changing the idea of Maghrebian megalithism as it has been presented to us since the 1960s. Description: M.A.ARCHAEOLOGY

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/6845 2019-06-11T08:03:20Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The archaeological evidence for the fashion of costumes in the Levant, C. 1565 up to 586 BCE. Volume 1 Abstract: Every human being is born naked, but during his or her lifespan s/he wears various types of attire, made in various forms and styles. Why? Wearing apparel was and is necessary for both health and survival. Apart from being a necessity, it also bears considerable social significance in the life of any society. Dress has always been an integral part of an individual, a means of asserting one's identity. It is a way of differentiating between individuals, based on gender, age, social role and social class, as well as differentiating cultural groups. In Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3 we find Polonius advising his son Laertes to dress well since 'the apparel oft proclaims the man'.Clothing has always been an integral part of past and present communities and societies. Indeed as illustrated by Ebeling, 'An interesting ostracon dating from the seventh century BCE from the site of a fortress at Mesad Hashavyahu, near the coast of southern Israel, demonstrates the value of clothing in ancient Israel. In this inscription, which was apparently dictated to a scribe, a field worker appeals to the governor of the fortress for the return of an item of clothing that he complains had been unjustly confiscated by a man named Hoshabyahu ben-Shobi. Although the item of clothing is not specified, it was probably a mantle or cloak given its apparent worth to the worker. Clearly, this clothing item was considered valuable to the field worker, and he took the necessary steps to attempt to get it back'. Description: M.A.ARCHAEOLOGY

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z