What do the letters TT at tas-Silg, Malta, mean?

Abstract

The unearthing of many inscribed pieces of potte1y at the sacred precinct of tas-Silg overlooking the bay of Marsaxlokk in the south-east of Malta bas for long led scholars to believe that Astarte was not the only Phoenician-Punic goddess worshipped there; indeed, since 1963 it seemed that the name of Tanit was appearing (mainly in abbreviated forms) alongside that of Astarte (Amadasi Guzzo 1993: 205). In her recent re-examination of the evidence, however, Amadasi Guzzo has come to the conclusion that one can no longer claim that at tas-Silg Tanit was worshipped alongside Astarte; as she says: «accanto alla <lea [Astarte] none piu possibile supporre la presenza de! culto di Tanit, ii cui name non appare leggibile in maniera incontrovertibile su nessuna iscrizione» (Amadasi Guzzo 1993: 211). The main point of Amadasi Guzzo is that there is no single instance where one can unambiguously read the name of the goddess Tanit in the inscribed ceramic pieces from tas-Silg. Indeed, the reading of these inscriptions is extremely difficult and laden with ambiguity: « ... sono proseguite le scoperte di frammenti ceramici iscritti, in una grafia spesso assai schematizzata, cosi che segni in origine diversi hanno assunto identici tracciati» (Amadasi Guzzo 1993: 205).