Ruins in a landscape : a consideration of past and present perceptions of archaeological sites in Malta

Abstract

The manner in which archaeological sites were and still are perceived strongly influences their management in the present and in the future. This study reviews the perceptions surrounding archaeological sites in the Maltese islands. The Maltese islands offer an interesting case-study in this regard. Situated as they are in the centre of the Mediterranean, these islands passed from the hands of the aristocratic Knights of St. John in 1798, following a brief French occupation (1798- 1800), to becoming a British colony (1800-1964). With this political development in mind, a consideration of the perceptions surrounding archaeological sites and their implications on the archaeological heritage management shall be examined. The aim of this dissertation is to provide an historic overview of the development of the interest in sites and artefacts and how they have been used or abused in the past. The second aim is see to what extent this has impinged on later developments and influenced the perceptions of archaeological sites in Malta. The third aim is to outline one of the major current concerns in the management of Malta's cultural heritage: ownership of, and access to, archaeological sites. The study shall focus on three main carefully chosen case-studies. The case-studies all come from different phases of Malta's past: Borg in-Nadur - Prehistory Għajn Klieb - Phoenician and Punic Ta' Gawħar - Roman However, the three sites all have one fundamental component which is common, namely that in all three cases the present management situation boils down to a land ownership issue with important archaeological sites caught in the middle. All sites are vulnerable to the pressures of modern land use. An attempt shall be made at clarifying the ownership of the sites in question. This painstaking research is a necessary prerequisite to any management plan of an archaeological area. Finally, it is the aim of the dissertation to outline the parties who have a claim at the archaeological site of Borg in-Nadur together with its surrounding landscape. The site of Borg in-Nadur was specifically chosen because in acute form the area illustrates the practicalities of competing claims, ownership and access.