Investigator antiquitatis : honouring the academic legacy of Anthony Bonanno

Abstract

This volume celebrates Anthony Bonanno, the person who has dedicated his life to archaeology and to the institution where he has worked, and continues to do so in his seventy-first year. To write a short appreciation of Anthony Bonanno is both a great honour and a daunting prospect, for it is hard to write about the archaeology in and of Malta over the last fifty years without reference to his work, his teaching, and his efforts to develop archaeology academically at the University of Malta. Tony – as he is known to his friends, colleagues and acquaintances – grew up in Żejtun, Malta. He joined the Bachelor of Arts course at the Royal University of Malta in 1963, at the age of 16, having completed his secondary schooling at De La Salle College. He came

to the Classics indirectly, having to study Latin in order to enroll on the Bachelor’s pro- gramme, with French and Italian as main subjects. He registered as a provisional student

and studied Latin privately first, followed by ancient Greek subsequently. In this he was helped by a priest from his home town, Revd Salvino Galea, and Revd Dr Joseph Busuttil, a classical specialist of quite some standing.