Tas-Silg, Marsaxlokk (Malta) I

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.