Tas-Silg, Marsaxlokk (Malta) I: Archaeological Excavations Conducted by the University of Malta, 1996-2005

Tas-Silg, on the south-east coast of the island of Malta, is a major

multi-period site, with archaeological remains spanning four thousand

years. A megalithic temple complex built in the early third millennium

BC gave way to a Phoenician and Punic sanctuary dedicated to the goddess

Astarte. The sacred place underwent major transformations in Roman

times, becoming an international religious complex dedicated to the

goddess Juno. Located on the maritime routes plied by mariners and

traders, its fame did not escape the attention of the first-century BC

orator Cicero. Excavated as part of a major archaeological project in

the 1960s, the site of Tas-Silg lay abandoned for several decades. In

1996, the University of Malta renewed excavations at the site for ten

seasons, uncovering Neolithic and Late Bronze Age occupation levels, and

substantial deposits associated with ritual offerings of Punic date.

This volume is the first monograph of the final publication of the

excavations. It provides an account of those excavations and of the

studies which accompanied them, including the lithic assemblages, the

figurative representations, scarabs and amulets, the worked stone, the

coins, and environmental analyses. It forms a companion volume to the

second monograph, which reports on the pottery and the inscribed pottery.