From vine to vat and beyond : the case of Ancient Malta

Abstract

It has been widely accepted that small islands were suitably placed to adapt to niche markets in their efforts to produce and export desired goods. The Maltese islands were probably no exception to this if we go by what the late Antonia Ciasca suggested in a 1985 article, where she proposed that a small number of locally produced pottery containers carrying foodstuffs were distributed to Maltese individuals residing away from the islands. Since then, new discoveries both in Malta and abroad have brought to light new archaeological evidence to substantiate further this distribution, as well as support a production and export of Maltese wine during the Late Punic/Early Roman period. This paper brings together new and old data to highlight what we can surmise so far, as well as our intention to embark on a programme of scientific analyses to corroborate and expand this suggested hypothesis.