Luigi M. Ugolini’s Malta Antica II : i maggiori templi neolitici e l’Ipogeo (The Major Neolithic Temples and the Hypogeum)

Abstract

For a fleeting moment in his description of the megalithic remains at Ġgantija, Luigi Ugolini reflects on the work of an archaeologist – how knowledge is created as paradigms evolve and the descriptions of yesteryear are often set aside by novel techniques and modern assessments. Like many other researchers, archaeologists are allowed the temporary privilege of breaking new ground by elucidating new aspects of past human history. At the same time, they are fully aware that their results may not be finite, that these are likely to be improved upon if not set aside altogether by new insights often brought about by the application of alternative methods and techniques of investigation. For an evaluation of his work, Ugolini asks for ‘compassion’, needed, he claims, as progress is likely to be registered with data from new excavations undertaken at the sites he studied. In this, of course, he was right as results that were published in the 1950s and 1960s were to reveal. [Excerpt from the Introduction]