'Prehistoric painted pottery in Malta' : a century later

Abstract

In 1911 T.E. Peet pointed out for the first time the difficulty of interpreting the earliest examples of Maltese prehistoric painted pottery. After a century of excavations and research this issue is still largely open especially with regard to Bronze Age wares. This paper deals with the Bronze Age painted pottery class named 'dribbled ware', characterized by decoration produced with the partial application of a thick slip instead of paint. This ware has been reported from several sites in the Maltese archipelago. Focusing on the evidence from In-Nuffara in Gozo, a new hypothesis about the chronology and function of the dribbled ware will be presented.