Coarse and fine wares : a contextual meaning of pottery in late Punic and Roman Malta

Abstract

The average two-litre plastic water bottles are manufactured to store, transport and pour mineral water intended for drinking purposes at the dinner table. That is what they are made to function as. However, in contemporary Maltese society, these same bottles are filled with juices, squashes, milk, alcohol, turpentine, paint and a whole host of other substances. Besides this, plastic bottles are used during sports as dumbbells; they are tied to house facades to prevent cats marking their territory; they are filled with undrinkable water and kept in cars to stock up on windscreen fluid and coolant; they are often cut in half to act as funnels (when using the top halj) or pencil and paintbrush holders (when using the bottom halj) and are useful materials for childhood arts and crafts. And a personal favourite, they are placed over metal rods, marking trench limits during archaeological excavations to prevent diggers from coming to any harm.1And of course, in today's ever-growing concern with eco-friendly waste disposal, plastic bottles are a top priority for recycling. In a nutshell, wherever these bottles end up, the likelihood is that future archaeologists will eventually interpret their original function - as drinking water bottles. The presumed 'written sources', for us, advertising campaigns, the internet and images, will assist in confirming this; however, very often archaeologists will be none the wiser in identifying many of the other roles these same bottles also played.