The study of ancient DNA is becoming increasingly useful for gaining information which cannot be obtained through traditional archaeological methods. The Maltese climate is not well suited to ancient DNA preservation, and prior to Dr Josef Caruana’s Ph.D. work, no studies on DNA in a Maltese archaeological context had been carried out. Dr Caruana, a curator at Heritage Malta, will give a presentation of the work conducted on samples taken from one Temple period and two late Roman archaeological sites in Malta. Dr Caruana’s talk, entitled The use of ancient DNA studies in a Maltese archaeological context, will also consider the limitations of such studies.
The talk is part of the Archaeology Society Malta lecture series, sponsored by APS Bank and will be held at the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, 173, St Christopher Street, Valletta on Wednesday, 15 March at 6pm.