Untitled

ARCHAEOTUR PROJECT
SEMINARI DI APPROFONDIMENTO
“CONSERVAZIONE, GESTIONE, VALORIZZAZIONE
E
MARKETING DEI BENI CULTURALI”
The Development of underground funerary Sites
in the late Roman period
Glen Farrugia
Over the past centuries, cultural heritage and antiquities drew a lot of interest
such that nowadays it is considered crucial for developing the identity of a
community. Antiquarianism developed into Archaeology, and since then, this
systematic discipline has evolved into other subfields. Throughout the years,
scholars put forward different theories and approaches in the field of archaeology.
Data retrieved in an archaeological context was, and still is, interpreted in
different ways. The content of this presentation will analyse the approach used by
particular archaeologists to help them gather information on the origin and
development of underground funerary sites of the Late Roman Period. The first
part of this presentation provides some information on the archaeologists who
pioneered the study of underground funerary sites. The second part outlines their
methods of research and interpretation. The final section will review some
archaeological theories and how these may help interpreting these sites.
A brief account of the History of Underground
Late Roman Funerary Archaeology
Maltese Late Roman Hypogea
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Marc Antonio Axiaq was the Maltese
surgeon serving on the galleys of the
Knights of St John in 1600’s
He was the first person who made
reference to the MalteSe catacombs
As a surgeon he recognised a considerable
amount of human bones inside the rock cut
compartments
Eventually he identified the places to be an
ancient burial sites
Axiaq lacked the knowledge and necessary
information to determine the approximate
date of these catacombs.
Reference to Maltese Catacombs
Following Axiaq’s account on what he calls the ‘Grottoes’, there were
other scholars and historians who made reference to the Maltese
underground funerary sites. Amongst these scholars we find:
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Giovanni Francesco Abela (1647, Della Descrittione di Malta)
Giovanni Antonio Ciantar (1770’s second edition of Abela’s work)
Onorato Bres ( 1816, Malta antica illustrata co’ monumenti e colla storia)
Moses Margoliuth (1850) (opened an undisturbed tomb 1847)
Cesare Vassallo (1851, Maltese ancient Monuments)
A.A Caruana (1898, Ancient Pagan Tombs and Christian Cemeteries in the Island of
Malta, & Ancient Pottery from the Ancient Pgan Tombs and Christian Xemeteries in
the Island of Malta)
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Giovanni Gatt Said ( special interest in epigraphy)
Albert Mayr (1901, Die altchrislichen Begrabnisstatten auf Malta)
Erich Becker (1911, Malta Sotteranea)
Sir Themistecoles Zammit ( TZ notebooks)
P.F Bellanti (1924, Studies in Maltese History)
C.G Zammit (1935, archaeological report on Tal-Bistra , Bulletin of the Museum)
Capt. Louis Upton Way (1937, article on Salina catacombs on the Times of Malta)
WWII- research work on the catacombs came to halt due to the international conflict. Some
catacombs were even mutilated and transformed into an air-raid shelter
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Gwann Farrugia (1947, The Times of Malta)
Padre Antonio Ferrua (1949, ‘Le Catacombe di Malta’ in Civiltà antica)
Vincent Borg (1976, ‘Un ile et se hypogeès de l’ ère des premiers chrètiens: Malte’)
Prof Mario Buhagiar(1986, Late Roman and Byzantine Catacombs and Related Burial Places
in the Maltese Islands )
The ‘Columbus of the Catacombs’
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In the meantime in Rome, Antonio Bosio, born in Malta (?), embarked in an important
project. Several Roman Catacombs were being rediscovered in Via Salaria and other roads.
Bosio Studied in Rome and had the necessary background to research the catacombs.
His work (Roma Sotteranea) was eventually published posthumously in 1632
Traditional Archaeology
1. The aims of Traditional Archaeology also known as Cultural-Historical
archaeology was to conduct Archaeological excavations and acquire a large
database of cultural heritage and material.
2. Furthermore it involved the analyzing of data apart from the context from
which artefacts are excavated/discovered
The Study
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Research work undertaken on the
underground funerary sites was mainly
descriptive
Underground
sites/Hypogea/Catacombs around the
Mediterranean were being recorded
on plans.
Artefacts were being recovered.
Archaeologists tried to distinguish
Christian catacombs from Pagan,
Jewish, and other communities.
Epigraphy was crucial for developing a
typology, even though sometimes the
former was too vague to clearly
establish its religous origin
Art was also very important to help
archaeologists figuring out the religious
beliefs of the communities who dug
out and made use of the various
underground funerary site
Tracing signs of architectural development
Prehistoric tombs
Roccazzo in Sicily
Xemxija in Malta
Tracing signs of architectural development
Phonecian/Punic tombs
Marano di Castensano, Bologna
Tac-Caghqi Burial Grounds, Rabat
Tracing signs of architectural development
Pagan & Paleochristian tombs
St. Duminca Zejtun
Tar-Raghad Hypogeum, Mgarr
Tracing signs of architectural development
Pagan & Paleochristian tombs
St. Agatha Catacomb, Rabat
The first visitors
• In the 17th century Abela accompanied visitors and conducted tours at St.
Paul’s Catacombs. Most of the times, these visitors were scholars or
important individuals
• Other visitors constituted of tomb raiders who were given the ‘licence’ to
search for gold and valuable artefacts. These ‘visitors’ were known as the
Tombaroli.
Visitors nowadays
• Nowadays, when it comes to visitors oriented archaeological
sites, it is important that not only the descriptive elements
are presented. Interpretation is very important when dealing
with a vast range of visitors. Archaeologists and heritage
managers have to keep in mind that cultural heritage needs
to be presented in a holistic way.
http://askpang.typepad.com/relevant_history/2011/02/british-museum-and-threeothers-plus-a-toy-store.html
• Therefore:
Rather than to ask HOW catacombs were Excavated ( which is also very important to
explain) we should ask WHY where catacombs excavated in a
certain
way?
HOW?
WHY?
There are other important questions which can be put forward and that can shed
more light on the nature of these underground sites such as:
What led to this development?
Was it demography?
Was it due to other factors?
If so, what are these factors?
Can we trace social evolution or change when studying the development of these sites?
Are there particular social implications when it comes to the development of catacombs?
Identifying the theoretical approach
Processual Archaeology Vs Postprocessual Archaeology
Processual Archaeology
Key concepts:
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7.
Explain past change
Interest in economic and social systems
Use of deductive methods
Hypothesis is correct only if it is tested
The use of modern technology to present data (statistical Graphs etc.)
Quantitative data is very important for sampling
Optimist towards problem solving
Processual Approach
Postprocessual/Interpretative Archaeology
Key Concepts:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Subjectivity
Structuralist
Neo-Marxist
In USA Postprocessualism is considered as continuation/development of
Processualism
5. In UK Postprocessualism is considered as a completely different theory
Postprocessual Approach
Catalhoyuk
Lex Romana
‘Qui
corpus perpetuae sepulturae traditum vel ad tempus alucui loco
commendatum nudaverit et solis radiis ostenderit piaculum committit: atque
ideo, si honestior sit in insulam,si humilior, in metallum dari solet’
Sentencias a su hijo: libro I. Interpretation : 1995
Conclusion
How far should we go in interpreting the
archaeological data and present it to the
public?
Bibliography
Buhagiar, Mario
(2007). The Christianisation of Malta: Catacombs, cult centres and
churces in Malta to 1530. Archaeopress: Oxford
Fowler, Peter J.
(1992) The Past in contemporary society: Then, Now. Routledge:
New York
Harris, David R. (ed.)
(1994) The Archaeology of Gordon Childe. UCL Press: London
Hodder, Ian
(1992) Reading the Pasr: Current approached to interpretation in
archaeology. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge
Hodder, Ian (ed.)
(1987) The archaelogy of contectual meaings. Cambridge University Press:
Cambridge
Renfrew, Colin & Bahn, Paul
(1996).Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice. Thames and
Thames and Hudson: USA
Shennan, S.J
(1994) Archaeological Approaches to Cultural Identity. Routledge :
New York
(ed.)