Harris Dunscombe Colt in Malta

Abstract

In December of 1992 Mrs Armida Colt donated to the library of the Palestine Exploration Fund in London an archive of photographs, papers, offprints and pamphlets relating to the work of her late American husband, Harris Dunscombe ColtJr. (1901-73). Part of this material concerns Malta (Fig. I), in particular the archaeological activity that took place there between 1925-34 when the island's megalithic antiquities were coming to the fore as a result of unstinting work by Dr (later Sir) Themistocles Zammit, rector of the University of Malta (1920-26), curator (19°3-22) and subsequently director (1922-35) of the Valletta museum of archaeology. On being informed of the Colt archive by Mr Andrew D. Appleyard, one of us (NCV) had occasion to examine the photographic archive in the course of research conducted at the British School at Rome about the effects of colonialism on the development of prehistoric research in Malta. On the initiative of the other one of us (RLC) this material has been presented to the University of Malta Library following an official request made by Dr Anthony J. Frendo, then Head of the Department of Classics and Archaeology at the same university, to the Executive Committee of the P.E.F. As this note was being drafted to mark this important event and to throw some light on Colt's Malta connection, contact with Colt's son Harris Strickland Colt and wife Margaretta was established by one of us (NCV). This led to the discovery of more material including a photograph album which has been kindly donated to the same library.