Catacombs at Hal Resqun re-discovered [ Malta ]

di-ve news ^ | Saturday, 12 August 2006 | unattributed

[SunkenCiv]

The Cultural Heritage announced that after almost fifty years of silence, one of Malta's most fascinating Roman catacombs has been re-discovered by officers of the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage within a traffic roundabout close to the Malta International Airport.

---

---

[SunkenCiv]

Archaeological discovery at Hal Resqun l/o Gudja
MaltaMedia News
Aug 11, 2006, 17:45 CET

The important archaeological discovery was made at Hal Resqun, a site on the outskirts of Gudja. The discovery consists of a Roman Catacomb which had been originally excavated by Sir Temistocles Zammit in 1912. However since then the catacomb has been completely obliterated under a wave of debris and asphalt. The Hal Resqun tomb is of particular scientific interest for Malta’s archaeology due in part to the refined use of decoration within the tomb. These decorative scheme in the catacomb imitates Roman architectural motifs, such as a number of fluted columns etched into the rock face of the tomb.

[SunkenCiv]

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. Thanks.

Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on or off the
"Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list or GGG weekly digest
-- Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)

[ApplegateRanch]

Just before Qaddafi took over Libya, my parents sold the house out from under my too-comfortable butt, and Mom moved to Malta, to be close to my father, working in Libya.

She spent a lot of her time touring the various castles, ruins, catacombs, and other historical & archaeological sites during the two years she spent there. I have a lot of slides, photographs, and booklets from there, stored in a box someplace.

[Woodstock]

Cool post

[Dustbunny]

Wow, great rediscovery !!

[SunkenCiv]

Oooh, sounds like some slide-scanning and photo posting is called for here. :')

[SunkenCiv]

It's amazing how the Romans were so far ahead of their time that they picked the best possible location for the airport. ;')