After almost 50 years, one of Malta’s most intriguing Roman catacombs has been re-discovered by officers of the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage within a traffic roundabout close to the Malta International Airport on Friday.
The important archaeological discovery was made at Hal Resqun, a site on the outskirts of Gudja. The discovery consists of a Roman Catacomb which had been originally excavated by Sir Temistocles Zammit in 1912. However since then the catacomb has been completely obliterated under a wave of debris and asphalt.
The Hal Resqun tomb is of particular scientific interest for Malta’s archaeology due in part to the refined use of decoration within the tomb. These decorative scheme in the catacomb imitates Roman architectural motifs, such as a number of fluted columns etched into the rock face of the tomb.
The site is however unique in that it includes two scenes cut in low relief into the rock-face of the catacomb. These scenes include both human and animal figures, and offer a very rare insight into what religious notions the Roman in Malta entertained with respect to death and the afterlife.
Following Temi Zammit’s discovery of the site, the catacomb was covered up by a road surface, following the development of the Luqa Airfield. The exact location of the Hal Reskun catacomb was lost, although it was generally understood to lie within a roundabout close to the Bir Miftuh chapel at Gudja. Various attempts to relocate the site had failed in the past, resulting in an increasing fear that the catacomb may have actually been destroyed or lost forever.
Today that fear has been fully laid to rest, as the Hal Resqun Catacomb has been positively re-discovered.
Officers from the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage have inspected the site and confirmed that this is the very same catacomb first sketched by Temi Zammit in 1912. The catacomb is in a good state of conservation considering its long abandonment. The tomb’s important decorations and figurative scenes are also well preserved and are still very legible.
The rediscovery was made possible due to a number of precautionary measures put into place by the Autorita` Dwar it-Trasport on the recommendation of the Superintendence. The road works at Gudja are in fact part of a road-improvement project being undertaken by the ADT.
Hal Resqun is a very important site for Maltese Roman archaeology, and its re-discovery will hopefully lead to its permanent conservation, following 50 years of oblivion. The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage will continue to work to ensure that this site will be conserved for public benefit in terms of the Cultural Heritage Act.
Aqra’ din l-aħbar bil-Malti:
Skoperta arkejologika f’Hal Resqun limiti tal-Gudja
by MaltaMedia News - Aug 11, 2006
© Copyright 2006 - MaltaMedia Online Network
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