Flora of archaeological sites in Malta

Abstract

The Maltese archipelago harbours numerous archaeological sites dating from between the Neolithic to Late Medieval periods. Whilst the perceived societal value of these sites is predominantly archaeological, they also support a rich vascular flora. The protection afforded to these sites promotes a relatively stable habitat with few and infrequent large-amplitude disturbances, facilitating the development of climax phytocoenoses in these areas. Although several surveys of these sites have been conducted, few have been published, and none of them integrate the flora of archaeological sites with the prevailing environmental conditions. We therefore aimed to fill this knowledge gap by collating the available data about the flora of archaeological sites and relating this to the abiotic context. [excerpt]