Lecture: Breaking (down) Roman pots: investigating pottery found at the Tas-Silġ sanctuary and the Żejtun villa

Lecture by Ms Emma Richard-Trémeau, Research Support Officer for the CoFIPoMS project looking at Late Punic and Roman pottery in Malta, Department of Classics and Archaeology, University of Malta.

Over the past few years, pottery studies in Malta have integrated scientific methods to improve our understanding of the materials’ provenance and manufacture. These techniques have not yet been systematically applied to the numerous assemblages dating from Malta’s Late Punic and Early Roman periods. This talk examines a University of Malta-led project investigating bowls, plates, and cooking vessels from the Tas-Silġ sanctuary and the Żejtun Villa. These were classified according to their composition and features, and indications of differences in their material and manufacturing processes are emerging. The project is trying to answer whether they were fabricated in Malta or imported and how they were made.

Abstract

Photo: Late Punic-Early Roman pottery, Tas-Silġ