Writing in 1924, the
anthropologist, Leonard Dudley Buxton, observed: “The student of human
history will find many remarkable things in Malta.” – He’s not wrong. For
anyone with an interest in history, Malta is a genuine ‘Treasure Island.’ My
first memory of hearing about this remarkable place was from my grandmother.
When I was a child, she used to keep a handwritten list pinned by a magnet to the
door of her refrigerator. It was a list of all the places she wanted to visit
and all the adventurous the things she wanted to do. Once she’d done them, she
used to get me to cross them off using a red pencil. Two of the things I remember
listed on that piece of paper were a flight on Concorde and a visit to the
Island of Malta. My grandmother knew I was very interested in history; hence I
remember her showing me photographs of her and my grandfather riding the
beautiful old buses (which until relatively recently were still in service on
the island), visiting crumbling castles and sun-kissed harbours filled with beautiful
sailing boats. Malta certainly did appeal to me. To my young ears there was a
lyrical, lilting magic to the sound of its name, like honeycomb and milk chocolate
– Malta. It was something I never forgot, and so, several decades later, having
just finished my masters degree in history, I decided it was high time to
finally see Malta for myself.
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| Old buses at Mdina, Malta |
Malta is a small archipelago of
five islands. The two main islands are Malta and Gozo, with two smaller
islands, Comino and Cominetto, set in the channel between them; plus there is
also a small outlying island, Filfla, located off the southwest coast of Malta.
It is only a modest archipelago. Malta is about 95 miles square, and Gozo just
25 square miles. Consequently, it is the perfect size to explore during a one
or two week holiday. I got myself a bus pass which enabled me to hop on and off
the buses which frequently crisscross the island, and this proved to be the
best way to navigate from one historical site to another because there are many
interesting places to see. Human occupation on the island goes back to at least
the Neolithic period when a flourishing culture constructed a series of unique
and unusual megalithic ‘buildings’ and subterranean crypts, some of which
predate other well known Neolithic sites such as Stonehenge in England. Many
centuries later the island was home to the Hospitaller Knights of St. John who
were displaced here from the island of Rhodes when Rhodes fell to the Ottomans
in 1523. The Knights of St. John are responsible for most of the formidable fortifications
which can still be seen in the main town of Valletta. In more recent history
the island was known as ‘Fortress Malta’ during World War 2, when it formed an
important naval base for the Allied resistance to the invading Nazi military
machine in the Mediterranean arena.
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| 'Gallarijia' balconies in Valletta |
I spent my first day on Malta
exploring the old town of Valletta which is a warren of narrow streets filled
with fascinating old buildings, gardens, churches and ramparts. It is a picturesque
place to wander around, the streets overhung by distinctive ‘gallarijia’
balconies, and plenty of churches to sneak a peek inside as you find them when
strolling the back streets. The Co-Cathedral of St. John is well worth a visit
with its grandly elaborate Barqoue interior lavishly decked out in gold, marble
and bright paint. The Cathedral’s Oratory holds two marvellous paintings by Caravaggio
– the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, painted in 1608, is Caravaggio’s largest
canvas and also the only one of his works which he signed; plus, a portrait of St.
Jerome writing, perhaps showing him translating the Bible from Greek into
Latin. It is one of two versions of this subject by him which I particularly
like. When Caravaggio was on Malta painting these works the Cathedral would have
looked much more austere. Its Baroque decorations were added later over the
course of many years.
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| The Co-Cathedral of St. John, Valletta |
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| Beheading of St. John the Baptist, by Caravaggio |
Caravaggio arrived here on Malta in
July 1607 and became a novice of the Order of St. John. He was a brilliant young
firebrand, noted for his prodigious talents in painting and picking fights.
Having killed a well-connected man in Rome the year before, he fled Italy and
found sanctuary on the island. Soon after his arrival he was involved in yet
another brawl, this time with six other Italian knights in which a knight of
high rank was shot and seriously wounded. Caravaggio was imprisoned in Fort St.
Angelo, but managed a daring escape (perhaps aided by influential friends) in
which he scaled the fort’s massive walls using ropes. He then fled once again,
this time on a boat bound for Sicily. From here he made his way north to
Naples, but his life on the run ended somewhat mysteriously when he died, it is
thought from a fever, at the age of 39.
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| Saint Jerome, by Caravaggio |
Caravaggio’s effect upon European
painting was profound, particularly on Mattia Preti, who later painted the
Cathedral’s six-section barrel-vaulted ceiling. Noted for its realism Caravaggio’s
style broke with the norms of religious painting, note the absence of chubby little
cherubs and winged angels in many of his works. His subjects can often be vividly
gruesome, choosing to focus on beheadings and the like, but he is also capable
of scenes of great serenity – as his two paintings of St. John and St. Jerome
found here in the Cathedral each amply attest. Whilst I was staying on Malta I
found an interesting book about Caravaggio’s time on the island, Caravaggio:
Art, Knighthood and Malta, by Keith Sciberras and David M. Stone (2006).
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| Judith and Holofernes, by Valentin de Boulogne |
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| Heraclitus, by ? |
Malta’s National Museum of Fine Art
(which I think has moved premises since I visited in 2014) also houses some
really magnificent paintings. Here the works which struck me most were Valentin
de Boulogne’s Judith and Holofernes, which shows clear influences of
Caravaggio’s treatment of the same gruesome subject, and a very moving painting
of an old man weeping, titled Heraclitus – which sadly I failed to note down
the name of the artist (and I’ve since been unable to find any reference to it on-line.
If anyone knows who it is by, please post a comment to let me know!). There are
also two lovely and evocative views of Malta done by the Scottish artist, David
Roberts, who is perhaps best know for his distinctive nineteenth-century views
of ruined temples and other monuments which he painted whilst on a tour of Egypt.
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| Valletta Harbour, by David Roberts |
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| The 'Sleeping Lady' from the Hypogeum |
The National Museum of Archaeology
in the centre of Valletta is also well worth a visit before heading out to the
various archaeological sites of interest for which Malta is most famous. A large
bust of Themistocles ‘Temi’ Zammit, the father of scientific archaeology on
Malta and former Director of the Museum, greets you as you arrive. Here artefacts
from Malta’s Neolithic Period (5000 BC) up to the Phoenician Period (400 BC),
including the ‘Sleeping Lady’ (from the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum), the ‘Venus of
Malta’ (from Ħaġar Qim Temples), Bronze Age daggers (from Tarxien Temples), and
a Phoenician anthropomorphic sarcophagus, help to orient you and explain some
of the temple sites before you visit. When I visited, perhaps taking its cue
from Neil MacGregor, the Museum had put on a special exhibition illustrating
the ‘History of Malta in 100 Objects’, including the George Cross Medal which
was given to the island’s population as a whole in recognition of Malta’s key
role during World War 2.
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| The George Cross Medal presented to the Island of Malta |
Since its independence from Britain
in 1964 the George Cross insignia has been incorporated into the national flag
of Malta, a curious choice when you consider the fact that the George Cross is
very much linked to the British Empire from which the island was then seceding,
as well as the fact that Malta already has its own long established and very distinctive
signature cruciform insignia – the Maltese Cross, which can be found on Maltese
1 Euro coins. I did read somewhere that this choice might have been made because,
when the British Empire became the Commonwealth, it was mooted that Malta might
be given British dependency status, in much the same way as Jersey and Guernsey,
but in the end Malta was made fully independent instead.
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| Għar Dalam, the 'Cave of Darkness' |
If you want to begin a tour of
subterranean Malta chronologically then the place to start is the cave at Għar
Dalam, which means ‘Cave of Darkness’ – although the cave is far less
forbidding than its name might suggest, it is actually quite a nice escape from
the sun and heat of the day outside. The cave is said to be one of the first
places on the island to be inhabited by humans c.5200 BC. These early settlers
are thought to have migrated here from Sicily. Malta is only 93 km from Sicily,
apparently close enough to be seen on a very clear day. Excavations of the cave
floor have yielded all the typical finds indicative of human settlement, such
as human and animal remains, rubbish pits, ceramic sherds, etc., as well as
much older faunal remains of animals such as hippos, elephants, bears, foxes
and wolves. The archaeologists have left a section of the earth in situ
to show the stratigraphy of the cave floor, plus several enormous (and still
forming) stalactites and stalagmites. Walking the steps to and from the cave
there is an interesting defensive contrast between an old watchtower, built by
the Knights Hospitaller, and its near neighbour, a concrete ‘pillbox’ built
during World War 2.
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| Knights Hospitaller Watchtower and WW2 Pillbox (above) |
The main site of subterranean
interest on Malta is, of course, the famous Hypogeum (Ħal Saflieni). I remember
my grandmother telling me about this – maybe it appealed to her Irish roots,
thinking of similar sites such as Newgrange – because Malta’s Hypogeum is a
complex underground burial chamber, or a temple to the dead, its layout
reminiscent of the nearby Tarxien Temples. Its construction spanning three
distinct phases during the long period between c.3600-2500 BC. The site was
discovered in 1899 and first investigated by a Jesuit priest, Father Manwel
Magri, but unfortunately his notes regarding his exploratory excavations have
since been lost, consequently little is known about his early antiquarian investigations.
Temi Zammit began a systematic study of the site in 1910, and he estimated that
over its 1000 year period of continuous use the site may have held the mortal
remains of around 7000 individuals.
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| Temi Zammit |
In order not to upset the
environmental preservation of the site, particularly in terms of maintaining
its levels of humidity, visitor numbers are carefully regulated. Consequently,
it is only possible to visit the site as part of a pre-booked tour. When I decided
to go to Malta all of these tours were already fully booked, but I’d read that
it was possible to buy tickets the day before for one particular day a week, so
I decided to chance my luck and see if I could get one of these tickets. The
staff at the museum which sold the tickets advised me to get there early on the
day the tickets go on sale because there’s always a long queue. They weren’t
kidding either. They said I should get there around 8am, so I got there around
7:30am and there were already 12 people in front of me and 6 more arrived
straight on my heels! And the queue continued to lengthen while I waited. I’d
been told that there were only 20 tickets for sale, hence it was hard not to
speculate how many tickets the persons in front of me might be hoping to
purchase. I felt sure most of those in front of me would be buying multiple
tickets for friends and family who might not have come with them, plus I
thought a couple of people near the front looked like local tour guides or perhaps
ticket touts. Of course, there was nothing to stop the first person in the
queue purchasing the lot outright. But doubts and uncertainties aside, all I
could do was to wait and see and hope the gods of old might favour me with a
stroke of luck – and favour me they did. When the place opened at 9am, everyone
ahead of me watched as shuffling forward we saw those at the front of the queue
leaving triumphant with tickets in hand, but there was no way to know how many
they’d bought. As I got closer and closer to the ticket counter I could see
people were beginning to leave with disappointed faces and empty hands. But it
seemed as though the tickets hadn’t run out yet, and it was only when I got to
the ticket counter that I discovered why – there was only a single ticket left.
Everyone ahead of me was looking for a pair of tickets or multiples of two. For
once, somewhat uncharacteristically, the lonesome traveller was at an advantage.
I found out the next day when I arrived at the Hypogeum that the chap at the
front of the queue had just bought one ticket for himself and this had thrown
the whole system and so secured me my precious ticket.
I was really glad to get that
ticket too, because the Hypogeum is well worth the visit and it would be a real
shame to go to Malta and not see this singular and remarkable prehistoric site.
Here’s what I wrote in my travel diary at the time: “The Hypogeum is truly
amazing. A short film at the start explains its discovery and excavation. Amazing
to think this place was found under what was already quite an urban area –
hence who knows what might lie as yet undiscovered beneath our feet elsewhere. The
chambers are actually smaller than the photographs of them I’d seen make them
appear, but this is mainly because there’s nothing in any of these photos to give
an idea of scale. Nevertheless, they are still an astonishing sight. I was most
taken by the remnant drill marks in one of the chambers and by the ceilings of
two others which are painted with vivid red ochre spirals. Absolutely
fascinating. The main chamber and the ‘Holy of Holies’, of course, are
stunningly beautiful and fantastically symmetrical. I was struck by one small
passing comment on the film commentary – apparently no evidence of soot was
found anywhere inside, so how were the subterranean chambers lit during both
construction and use?”
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| The Tarxien Temples |
From 1915-1919 the nearby Tarxien
Temples were also excavated by Temi Zammit. There are four temples here,
similarly dating to c.3600-2500 BC, and they must have been utilised by a
substantial sized Neolithic community. Once the temples fell out of use the
site has evidence of later activity during the Bronze Age and Roman period, as
well as during medieval times, after which the site was lost until its
rediscovery in the twentieth century. Many important finds have been made here,
particularly in terms of monumental sculptures. Spiral motifs can be found here
similar to those of the ochre-etched spiral designs on the roof of the Hypogeum.
I noted that many of the snail shells I came across on Malta had similar spiral
markings decorating their whorled shells, and so I couldn’t help wondering if
these motifs might have been inspired from such observations derived from the
natural world surrounding these sites.
Tarxien is possibly the key site
for archaeologists wishing to understand the Neolithic period on Malta, but it
is not the most picturesque of Malta’s Neolithic sites. Hence, a visit to
Mnajdra and Ħaġar Qim is essential. These two sites are located very close to
one another on the coast, far from any modern urban encroachment. The two sites
are now each covered by huge sail-like canopies which were built primarily to
protect these important sites from the elements, but they also protect the
visitor from the full force of the sun too, making it much more pleasant to
wander round and explore at leisure. And I don’t think it detracts from an
appreciation of the site’s natural setting because after all when the temples
were first constructed they would have had their own stone-corbelled rooves,
hence you do get some suggestion of them as enclosed spaces.
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| Mnajdra and Ħaġar Qim |
The temples consist of a series of
rooms with rounded interiors connected by passageways. The walls are made of
large upright limestone blocks, and some areas are still paved. There are
niches, benches and ‘altars.’ Several of these yellow limestone megalithic
slabs are stippled with a pecked honeycomb-like decoration. And some of the
stones might have been configured to certain celestial alignments, although many
of these assertions have yet to be definitively explained or actually demonstrated.
A lot of prehistoric archaeology is speculative due to the nature of there
being no written records to help explain or corroborate the design and original
function of such sites and how these factors changed, evolved or were adapted
over time. Systems of knowledge at this time are largely a mystery to us as
modern interpreters, all we have to work with are the sites themselves and the
material finds discovered within them – such as fragments of pottery,
sculptures, remnants of food and fire use, tools, etc. But looking at the
spatiality of such sites and speculating as to how they related to the
surrounding landscape as it may have been at the time of construction, as well
as factors relating to the climate, possible population densities, and the like
are all things to consider and ponder about. A very interesting paper on these
elements by David Turnbull which appeared in the academic journal, Theory,
Culture & Society, in 2002, titled: Performance and Narrative,
Bodies and Movement in the Construction of Places and Objects, Spaces and Knowledges: The Case of the Maltese Megaliths is well worth a read in this
regard.
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| Mnajdra and Ħaġar Qim |
Further along the coast heading
west, the Dingli Cliffs are a lovely spot to walk and see the sunset. Turning
inland, however, there is another site of subterranean interest in the town of
Rabat – St. Paul’s catacombs. These are the largest and said to be the most
impressive of all Malta’s catacombs. Covering an area of over 2000m² the catacombs date back to the Phoenician
period at the earliest, and to the period of Arab rule around 870 AD at the
latest, but the heyday of the catacombs was during the Byzantine or Romano-Christian
period, 4th-8th century AD. A flight of stone steps takes
you down into a wide atrium-like area where you can see two large round ‘agape
tables’ carved into the rock, these were designed and used for leaving food
offerings to the dead. From this atrium a labyrinth of low and narrow passageways
on multiple levels contain many different designs of tombs which have all been
cut into the rock. Some of these types are named as follows: ‘loculus’,
recessed graves or niches cut into the walls; ‘forma’, or graves cut into the
floor; as well as arched recess graves, known as ‘arcosolium’; and ‘window
graves’, which are more like small rooms; plus ‘table’ and ‘bench’ graves,
which look like stone chests; and the more elaborate ‘baldacchino’ or canopied
graves, which look like the stone tombs found in churches, except these are all
carved from the natural rock of the catacomb. The whole place is rather
reminiscent of the catacombs seen beneath the church in Venice in the film, Indiana
Jones and the Last Crusade; and like Indy, you can wander around in the
almost pitch darkness exploring this sepulchral space – although here the
graves are now empty of their ancient bones. When I went down into the catacomb
there were hardly any other visitors, and so I wandered at leisure for quite a
long time, exploring the length and breadth of the place – never quite sure of
how far it would go or if I’d lose my way and not know how to get back to the
entrance. But as I wandered, crossing and recrossing my own path, I began to
forma a mental picture of the layout in my mind until I felt fairly confident I
knew where I was and where certain passages would lead me. It was also a
wonderful escape from the intense heat and the bright sunshine of the day outside.
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| St. Paul's Catacombs |
Chronologically, the last or most
recent of subterranean sites of interest on Malta are the Lascaris War Rooms
back in Valletta. These reminded me a little of the Cabinet War Rooms in London
which I last visited when I was a child. The Lascaris War Rooms were built to
serve a similar purpose too. This was the place where General Eisenhower
oversaw the operations of the Allied Forces based in the Mediterranean during
the latter part of World War 2, including the invasion of Sicily (which I think
my grandfather might have been a part of; he certainly served in Italy later
on). A forlorn and somewhat moth-eaten crowd of manikins populate the old bunk
room dormitories, the map rooms and radio stations here, lending the place a
spooky and surreal aspect as though it were designed to bemuse and befuddle
John Steed in an episode of 1960s TV drama, The Avengers. The
underground HQ was known to the troops it housed as ‘The Hole’, but it was really
named after the knight, Jean Paul de Lascaris Castellar, because the tunnels
were originally dug by the knights as living quarters for their galley slaves. After
the War these rather dank and musty old tunnels were extended even further,
although the works were abandoned before they were completed with much of the excavation
equipment simply left behind, hence no one now really knows what the intended
purpose for this was, but, had it been finished, it would have been a huge military
warren hidden beneath the ancient streets far above.
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| Lascaris War Rooms |
Malta is certainly steeped in
history. It’s hard to set foot anywhere on Malta without some historical
feature from the near or remote past catching your eye. And for the solo
traveller it is a wonderfully accessible and easily navigable place to get
around. I managed to fill a week with plenty of historical sites, churches and
museums – and there were still places I didn’t manage to get to see on Malta,
let alone Gozo. It’s definitely a place which I can’t imagine I’d ever get
bored of exploring. I’d long wanted to come here, and so, sitting at the
airport, waiting to board my flight home, I reflected on the fact that I could now
draw a red pencil line through it on my own personal wish list of places to see
and visit in my lifetime. It is a place which will linger long in my memory.
Maybe one day I will return, but for now – for this history buff, it was the
perfect place to have celebrated the personal milestone of achieving my MA in
history.
See
more photographs from my trip to Malta here
References
L. H. Dudley Buxton, Malta: An
Anthropogeographical Study, in Geographical Review, Vol. 14, No. 1
(January, 1924), pp. 75-87
Keith Sciberras & David M.
Stone, Caravaggio: Art, Knighthood, and Malta (Valetta, Malta: Midsea
Books Ltd., 2006)
David Turnbull, Performance and
Narrative, Bodies and Movement in the Construction of Places and Objects,
Spaces and Knowledges: The Case of the Maltese Megaliths, in Theory,
Culture & Society, Vol. 19, No. 5/6 (2002), pp. 125-143
Also on 'Waymarks'
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