The Coastal Traders - Day 2 in Valletta (part iii)

So it turns out this museum was big. Really big. I didn't want to compact everything into the one post, so instead of the two (which you would be forgiven for believing would be the end of it), you now get a third, at absolutely NO EXTRA COST! What a bargain! We're still dealing with the bronze age, albeit a much later stage in the era. The Maltese, having had very little (if any) contact with the outside world have begun forming their own society with their own rituals, beliefs and creations - as is always the case with isolated civilsations, someone is bound to cross paths with them. In Malta's case, one of the earliest civilisations to come into contact with the islands were the Phoenicians, renowned Mediterranean traders who both imported new objects to Malta, as well as exported some Maltese wares to Northern Africa and Southern Europe.

This section of the museum was rather small, however, there was a fourth section which contained artifacts from Malta's history, from the stone age, right through to this year. Unfortunately, due to an error in uploading my photos to the computer, I deleted the latter half of these - unfortunate, as I've been accused of doing things worthy of Nicolas Cage, and one of the missing photos is of Malta's actual declaration of independence - If I have time at the end of my trip, I may go back to try and get my hands on it take a photograph of it.

Anyhoo, onto the Phoenicians.

This section of the museum wasn't specifically about Malta's interaction with the Phoenicians - rather it detailed the Phoenician impact on the Mediterranean. The interactions between the two races were quite affable - it was in both of their best interests to remain at peace with one another, as they had more to gain from trade than they could ever manage to take in a war.

The entryway information on the exhibit. Although blurred, you can find similar info on Wikipedia.

A map detailing the trade routes the Phoenicians used in the Mediterranean.

The Phoenicians pretty much dominated bronze age trade between coastal towns of the Mediterranean - they would take items from all over the region through to various ports in the known world. As such, there would often be a trade of culture as a significant part of this, including the introduction of largely ceremonial practices such as burial rites. Like the Egyptians before them, the Phoenicians were partial to burying their dead in sarcophagi, a tradition which had soon made its way to Malta, even if only with a small portion of the population.

What do you call a mummy who eats cookies in bed?

A Crummy mummy.

The sarcophagus itself - not as detailed as their Egyptian counterparts.

Following on from this rather small display, there was a special exhibit in the museum - The History of Malta in 100 Artifacts. While there were some amazing objects in here, it would not do the items any justice to go into details here, as they are a sporadic view of the items which can be found within the island's history. As such, these items will be covered in greater detail in posts which deal with their actual significance as a page from history.

Until next time,

R&S

Cu and Fe - Day 2 in Valletta (part II)

Neolithic Malta only has one secret which remains locked - what happened to the people? After the final stages of Maltese stone age, the people disappeared - there are some theories as to what happened to them, most of which revolve around starvation - the people were unable to properly manage the land (Malta is not the most fertile place on the planet), and years of poor crops caused mass starvation and death. A new group of people did move to Malta during the Bronze Age.

Welcome....to Jurassic Pa - er I mean the Bronze Age.

So it turns out that no matter what, earthenware is always the last survivor.

The earthenware on display in the bronze age section was certainly more ornate than that of the preceding era. What set this group of people apart from their forebears, however, was not their earthenware, but their reliance on metals and alloys to complete their day to day tasks.

Bronze age Tupperware.

Various bronze age artifacts - some of these were purely ornamental, such as the necklace in the top left corner, others had much more practical uses, such as the axe-head in the bottom right corner.

The bronze age also highlighted another significantly difference between the two major societal groups in the island's history - the bronze age Maltese had trade relations with other societies in the Mediterranean region. As is always the case when trade is involved, the foreign goods were most often used as status symbols for wealth.

Surprisingly, this is in better condition than some of the roads I've seen here.

The only other point of any real interest regarding the bronze age is that they did have a highway system of sorts - the picture above shows how beasts of burden would often draw carts along the same paths of desire, thus creating a road of sorts. The runnels provided significant evidence pointing towards the main habitations of the bronze age settlers.