The Maltese early christian cemeteries : an overview

Abstract

The Early Christian cemeteries of the Maltese Islands are among the most important south of Rome and have significant archaeological and art historical interest. It is the aim of this paper to assess the archaeological evidence and to establish a context for a meaningful study and interpretation. An essential characteristic of the Maltese cemeteries is their compactness and intimate proportions. The labyrinthine complexities that mark the major cemeteries of Rome, Naples, Siracusa and Hadrumentum are entirely absent. The most extensive cemetery, that of St Paul, covers an approximate area of 2166m (fig. 8.1), while the nearby St Paul’s Grotto Hypogeum is only 28m .There is, on the other hand, a more diversified typology of tomb architecture, and an unexpected richness of detail. The Maltese cemeteries are, as a matter of fact, best understood as the product of a particular environment and cultural tradition that was only superficially affected by external influences that came by way of Sicily and North Africa. They are greatly indebted to the Phoenician and Romano-Punic shaft-andchamber-tomb, and are, as a matter of fact, an elaboration and multiplication of their spatial and architectural idiosyncrasies.