Land ownership at Tas-Silġ and environs

Abstract

The area containing the archaeological remains of Tas-Silġ is a hilltop overlooking, and prominently visible from, Marsaxlokk Bay and St Thomas Bay in south-east Malta. Archaeological remains here are witness to activity by humans for millennia, with considerable activity occurring during the Phoenician and Roman periods. Over the past centuries the identity of the remains at Tas-Silġ has been debated by different scholars, but archaeological investigations carried out by the Missione Archeologica ltaliana in the 1960s identified the remains with the renowned temple of Juno mentioned by classical authors. The size and nature of the remains ensured that they remained visible ever since, and were described by antiquarians and travellers since Early Modern times. The archaeological remains are spread over two large areas to the north and south of the Żejtun-Marsaxlokk road (Triq Xrobb l-Għaġin). Fields in both areas were selected for investigation by the Missione Archeologica ltaliana and some were excavated between 1963 and 1970. Archaeological excavations were resumed in the 1990s in both the northern and southern enclosures of the site.