Pottery sherds, broken fragments of pottery, are the most numerous and widespread archaeological artefacts found. Although the project focused on three phases of the early Neolithic, and the locations were constrained within the small boundary of the Maltese Islands, a selection could still be made from thousands of items kept in display or storage.
A number of sherds representative of the different pottery traditions was selected. A large enough number of samples was chosen to ensure that each tradition was sufficiently well-represented by typical sherd fabrics. The choice was limited to by the need to grind an edge of the sherd for microscopy, so display materials were excluded from the selection. The sherds also needed to be large enough to handle and to sample, having at least one 3 cm long dimension. Body, rim or base sherds were preferred to handles, lids, or fragments of applied decoration, as these may have been produced using a different recipe to the main body. Finally, the choice was limited to sherds found in secure archaeological contexts which had been documented.
The final sample set included a total of 381 sherds.
The prehistorical phases which define the extent of the MaltaPot Project are from the earlier part of the Neolithic period in Malta. More specifically, these are the earliest three cultural phases identified, all taking the name of associated locations. The Għar Dalam phase (6 000-5400 BC) takes its name from the earliest known inhabited site in the islands. The Skorba phase (5400-4800 BC) is named for a temple site in Mġarr. The Żebbuġ phase (3800-3600 BC) is named for the Maltese town near to the burial site which first revealed the remains of this culture, located at Ta’ Trapna, in the outskirts of Ħaż-Żebbuġ.
For a recent discussion on the dating of the archaeological phases, see Hunt et al. (2020).
The earliest pottery in Malta is known as Għar Dalam ware. The pottery is named after the site of Għar Dalam, where it was first discovered by the archaeologist Giuseppe Despott in 1918. To date, Għar Dalam pottery has been found at 23 sites across both Malta and Gozo. The vast majority of these sites are little more than scatters of sherds, with no associated structures. The partial remains of an Għar Dalam phase hut were, however, discovered at Skorba, in the vicinity of the later temple structure. The hut appears to have been surrounded by a substantial stone wall, similar to those found enclosing contemporary Sicilian and Italian settlement sites.
The archaeologist Luigi Bernabo Brea was the first to recognise that Malta’s Għar Dalam pottery was part of the Impressed Ware tradition, which is one of the earliest Neolithic ceramic traditions in the central and western Mediterranean. Like the other Impressed Ware pottery, the surface of the Għar Dalam pottery is decorated with impressed designs. These are often geometric, with rows of parallel lines or chevrons. Dots, c-shaped motifs and even fingernail impressions also occur. The designs on the Għar Dalam pottery are often highlighted with a white paste to make the designs stand out. The Maltese Għar Dalam pottery most closely resembles the Stentinello ware of Sicily; however, although it has been noted that Stentinello designs are often stamped on to the surface of the pot, this technique does not appear to have been used in Malta.
Għar Dalam vessels tend to be globular in form with rounded bases, which is common with hand-built ceramics, although some of the bowls have a pedestal base. Simple strap handles are commonest, but pierced lugs and tunnel handles are also found. A few rare examples of handles shaped like animal heads have also been found.
Traditionally, archaeologists have divided the Għar Dalam fabrics into either fine or coarse ware, but new research carried out for the MaltaPot project indicates that more distinct fabric types were used during this phase.
The emergence of the Skorba phase, around 4 500 BC, in Malta appears to be part of a wider phenomenon that saw an increase in social networks and trade and exchange across the Mediterranean. These changes were accompanied by a new type of pottery, as elaborately decorated Impressed wares were replaced by plainer ceramics with surfaces which were burnished or coated with a slip, and little decoration.
In the Central Mediterranean, this new pottery was represented by Diana-Bellavista ware in southern Italy and Sicily and by Skorba pottery in Malta. Skorba material was recognised as a distinct ware when David Trump excavated Skorba in the early 1960s. Up until this point, excavations had produced little in the way of Skorba material, and archaeologists had assumed that these sherds were imports of Diana-Bellavista ware. This, however, changed when Trump noticed that the Maltese material had a distinctive speckled appearance, not present in the Italian or Sicilian wares. Outwardly, the Skorba pottery bore all the hallmarks of the new, plainer pottery style, but Trump argued that the fabric represented a continuation from the later Għar Dalam wares, some of which were also tempered with white grit.
Skorba pottery has been recognised at a further six sites across the Maltese islands. Like the Għar Dalam ware, most of the sherds have been found as surface scatters, but a two-room structure uncovered by Trump during the Skorba excavations, which might represent the first known ritual structure on Malta, produced copious amounts of Skorba pottery, along with terracotta figurines and partial goat skulls.
The Skorba phase includes an earlier Grey Skorba and a later Red Skorba phase. The fabric of both is generally heavily tempered with large white grit. The main difference lies in their finish: Grey Skorba has a grey burnished surface, and is generally devoid of decoration, while Red Skorba derives its name from the bright red slip use to coat the surface. Decoration is more common on the Red Skorba ware than the Grey Skorba, although it still tends to be restrained. The most common decorative motifs are c or s-shapes, loops, spirals and occasionally zigzagged lines, all of which are incised on to the surface of the vessel.
In 1947, a group of workman digging trenches at Ta' Trapna, Żebbuġ, stumbled upon the remains of five tombs containing multiple human remains and a distinctive new type of pottery. This new Żebbuġ ware was unlike any of the other pottery previously discovered on the Maltese islands, and there was no obvious antecedent for it in either the Għar Dalam or Skorba wares. The Żebbuġ pottery is so different in form and decoration that most archaeologists believe that it represents a significant cultural change. It most closely resembles the pottery the San Cono-Piano Notaro traditions of Sicily, where it is associated with rock-cut tombs similar to those found at Ta' Trapna.
Since this initial discovery, archaeologists have discovered pottery belonging to the Żebbuġ tradition at a total of sixteen sites across the Maltese isles. Most sites contain little more than scatters of sherds, but the remains of two hut sites were uncovered at Skorba by David Trump 1966, and several other funerary sites have been found across the islands. In the 1980s, a rock-cut tomb was discovered in the upper levels of the Xaghra Hypogeum in Gozo. The tomb yielded vast quantities of Żebbuġ pottery, leading the excavators to ascribe a Żebbuġ date to the burials. More recent radiocarbon dating carried out on the burials shows that the human remains actually date to the Ġgantija phase, and the significance of the Żebbuġ pottery has become a topic of discussion.
Żebbuġ vessels tend to have smoothed or burnished surfaces that are often highly decorated. The geometric designs and straight lines of the Għar Dalam and Skorba phases are replaced by arcs, roughly scored haphazard lines, dashed lines, and rows of roughly incised parallel lines, which are often edged with triangles or small, short strokes. Some of the Żebbuġ pottery is incised with decorations that are reminiscent of the Trefontane ware from Sicily.
One of the unique features of Żebbuġ decoration is the occurrence of anthropomorphic figure. These figures, or 'stick-men', are schematic representations of the human form, with triangular heads and lines for the body and limbs. These anthropomorphic representations are more frequently observed in the funerary pottery. Another new decorative technique to emerge during the Żebbuġ period is the appearance of painted wares. The painted motifs are similar to the inscribed designs, and arcs, parallel lines and haphazard lines are all common.
Blue Clay is one of the main geological layers found in a number of accessible locations in the South-West of Malta and most of Gozo. Malta’s clay layers reach a maximum thickness of 75 m, and can also include fossils of marine molluscs, coral and fish teeth.
Clay sampling was carried out at a number of locations which are with a reasonable distance of Neolithic archaeological sites, and which could have been sources of material for the manufacture of pottery. Small amounts of about 500 g were collected from locations in Gozo such as in-Nuffara near Xagħra, and Ta’ Leveċa, near Żebbuġ, and added to an existing sample set from Malta. A larger sample of 1 kg was collected from in-Nuffara to be used for experimental archaeology, in this case an investigation into the manufacture of pottery. The samples were crushed to powder and analysed in order to provide a basis for comparison to materials found in the sherds.
For more information about work on the clay samples, see the CoFIPoMS project.