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Department of Archaeology |
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Explorations into the conditions of spiritual creativity in
Prehistoric Malta.
See also the conference announcement—`Cult
in Context: Comparative Approaches to Prehistoric and Ethnographic
Religious Practices' and the list of Cult in Context seminars
Project Director
Project Programme
- Planning: January - April 2006
- Fieldwork and Analysis: April - November 2006
- Seminar: September 2006
- Conference: December 2006
Collaborating Institutions
Project Members
- Dr Michael Anderson
- Mr Steven Ashley (Norwich)
- David Barrowclough
- Suzannah De Pasquale (Heritage Malta)
- Dr Simon Stoddart
Financial Support
Research Aims
The general pattern of innovation in Maltese prehistoric
religion has now been established from recent results. From c.
3600 BC a dramatic religious change led to the construction of
some of the earliest stone monuments of the world in response to
changed attitudes of belief in life and death. These innovative
temple structures have been restudied in the light of modern
anthropological theory. Additionally, modern fieldwork provides
new knowledge of the underground mortuary structures, greatly
enhancing a complementary understanding of attitudes to the
afterlife. What is needed now is a further level of detailed
study to provide the micro-context of these changes. Key
questions we wish to pose are What precisely are the changes in
the prehistoric art of the period ? and How were these elements
of art inserted in the liturgical space of life (temples) and
death (mortuary structures) ? To answer them we need a precisely
observed catalogue of material set within an equally precisely
observed architectural space together with wider comparative
analysis of the Maltese context.
Methods
- A precise measured, drawn, photographed and digitally
scanned catalogue of all Maltese figurative art accompanied by
analytical study.
- A precise 3D digital record of the context of this art to
provide the liturgical framework in reconstructing the
placement and use of objects in religious activity. This will
draw on current surveys of the monuments by Heritage Malta and
original excavation archives, filling gaps where
necessary.
- The use of innovative GIS to assess the access and
visibility of the liturgical furniture within its architectural
setting based on innovative methodology by Michael
Anderson.
- Seminar followed by an international published symposium on
findings of the project.
