Tobacco pipes from an underwater excavation at the quarantine harbour, Malta

Abstract

This excavation was carried out in an area earmarked for development just off the lazaretto on Manoel Island in Marsamxett harbour (Figs. 2 and 3), between 22 and 29 June 2001.'7 The topography of the seabed consists of a steep slope descending from 4 to 27m at an angle of 55 degrees, values approximate. The top of the slope is littered with war damaged and discarded worked stone blocks (some of archaeological value) and a variety of debris. The main sediment consists of a mixture of grey silt and sand. Artefacts recovered ranged in date from before the era of the Knights of Saint John to Royal Naval issues (1530-1930). Seaweed and silt were removed from the artefacts before desalination.35 of the 42 pipes are stylistically Ottoman chibouks - ceramic bowls which would have had perishable reed or wooden stems. The other 7 fragments have origins in northern Europe.