Melite (ancient city)
Domus Romana, one of the few visible remains of Melite | |
Location | Malta |
---|---|
Region | Northern Region |
Coordinates | 35°53′N 14°24′E / 35.883°N 14.400°E |
Area | c. 0.32 km2 (0.12 sq mi) |
History | |
Builder | Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans and Byzantines |
Material | mainly limestone and marble |
Founded | c. 8th or 7th century BC |
Abandoned | 870 AD |
Site notes | |
Condition | Largely destroyed, a few remains survive |
Melite (
Only a few vestiges of the Punico-Roman city have survived. The most substantial are the ruins of the
History
Prehistory
Melite was located on a strategically important plateau on high ground in the western part of the island of Malta. The site had been inhabited since prehistory, and by the Bronze Age it was a place of refuge since it was naturally defensible.[2]
Phoenician colony
The
Roman city
Roman rule in Malta was established in the early stages of the
During the early Roman occupation, Melita had the status of a foederata civitas like other cities in Sicilia such as Messana (modern Messina) and Tauromenium (modern Taormina). Its inhabitants were regarded as socii and not as conquered people, so they retained their laws and had the right to mint their own coins. Although the Latin language and Roman religion were introduced, Punic culture and language survived in Malta until at least the 1st century AD. Eventually, Melita was given the status of municipium, being granted the same rights as other Roman cities.[11]
According to the
Little is known about the city's layout since very few remains have survived. It was surrounded by thick walls and a ditch, with a number of cemeteries located outside the walls. According to tradition, the
A Temple of Proserpina stood on the hill of Mtarfa, outside the walls of Melita. Only a fragment of a marble column and parts of a Punic cornice remain from this temple, but its existence is known from the Chrestion inscription, an inscription discovered in 1613 recording that the temple was renovated during the reign of Augustus.[18] A statue of Saint Nicholas now stands on the site of the temple.[19]
Later history
The Maltese Islands were incorporated into the
Melite was
According to Al-Himyarī's account, the island remained almost uninhabited until it was resettled in around 1048 or 1049 by a Muslim community and their slaves, who built a settlement called Medina on the site of Melite, making it "a finer place than it was before." The Byzantines
The city of Medina, later called Mdina in Maltese, remained the capital city of Malta throughout the medieval period until 1530, when the Order of St. John established their seat in Birgu. The city was subsequently known as Città Vecchia (Old City) or Città Notabile (Noble City). It was extensively rebuilt over the centuries, with the last major building project occurring in 1720s, when its fortifications were upgraded and many public buildings were built.[22]
Remains
According to
Very few remains of Melite still exist today, and no significant ruins of the city's temples, basilicas or triumphal arches have survived.
The remains of a city gate or tower within the walls of Melite were discovered in Saqqajja in modern Rabat, about 5 m (16 ft) below the current street level. Parts of the city's 700 m (2,300 ft)-long ditch have survived under present-day St. Rita Street and the
Sections of a Roman road, cisterns, canals and other archaeological remains were discovered beneath
A small statue of the Egyptian goddess Isis and an elaborate cornice were also found in Rabat.[35]
Many catacombs, together with a number of both Punic and Roman tombs, are found in Rabat. These were originally located just outside the walls of Melite.[36] The catacombs of the period also include those of a Jewish community.[37]
Legacy
The city of Melite shared its name with the main island of Malta and subsequently the entire country.
Further reading
- A Decorative Marble Slab Discovered Lately at Notabile
- Malta in Classical Times
- A Greek Inscription found in Malta
- Many ancient remains lie underneath old Roman parts of Rabat
- The four curiosities of Rabat
- The mosaic pavements in the Museum of Roman Antiquities at Rabat, Malta
- Traces of Bronze Age settlement unearthed in Rabat
- Medieval period remains of walls and a round tower
- Roman wall and Arab period remains at Santa Margerita Cemetery
- Roman wall and ditch discovered; melite was about 1.5 kilometres squared
- Byzantine aqueduct
References
Citations
- ^ Wilson, R. (12 July 2020). "Places: 462310 (Melita)". Pleiades. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
- ^ a b Spiteri 2004–2007, pp. 3–4
- ^ Filigheddu (2006).
- ^ Cullican (1992).
- ^ a b Vella (2023).
- ^ Cassar (2000), pp. 53–54.
- ^ Said-Zammit (2006), p. 39.
- ^ a b Sagona 2015, pp. 264–266
- ^ p. 12.
- ^ "Il-Muzew ta l-Antikitajiet Rumani (The Museum of Roman Antiquities)" (PDF) (in Maltese). Retrieved 2024-02-08.
- ^ Said-Zammit 2006, pp. 44–46
- ^ Acts 28:1–10
- ^ "Latin Saints of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Rome". Orthodox England. Archived from the original on 26 March 2016.
- ^ "Orthodox Malta". Orthodox England. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016.
- ^ Traill, Henry Duff (1891). "The Picturesque Mediterranean" (PDF). from University of California: Cassell. pp. 53–54.
- ^ Gaul 2007, p. 172
- ^ a b Testa, Michael (19 March 2002). "New find at Mdina most important so far in old capital". Times of Malta. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016.
- ^ Cardona 2008–2009, pp. 40–41
- ^ a b Sagona 2015, p. 285
- ^ a b Brincat 1995, pp. 15–17
- ^ Blouet 2007, p. 41
- ^ De Lucca 1979, pp. 21–25
- ^ MacGill 1839, p. 95
- ^ MacGill 1839, pp. 104–105
- ^ MacGill 1839, p. 63
- ^ Cardona 2008–2009, pp. 42–43
- ^ a b Bonanno 1984, pp. 7–9
- ^ Depasquale & Cardona 2005, p. 3
- ^ "Domvs Romana". Heritage Malta. Archived from the original on 5 January 2015.
- ^ Sagona 2015, p. 273
- ^ "Remains of Punic Rampart Wall Discovered at Mdina". MilitaryArchitecture.com. 5 May 2010. Archived from the original on 12 April 2016.
- ^ Spiteri 2004–2007, p. 10
- ^ Vella, Fiona (23 April 2014). "Noble stones". Times of Malta. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017.
- ^ Cardona 2008–2009, p. 47
- ^ Sagona 2015, p. 273
- ^ Vassallo, Bernard (29 September 2013). "21 catacombs and tombs outside Melita's walls". Times of Malta. Archived from the original on 12 January 2014.
- S2CID 162938587.
Bibliography
- Blouet, Brian W. (2007). The Story of Malta. Allied Publications. ISBN 9789990930818.
- Bonanno, Anthony (1984). "The Maltese artistic heritage of the Roman period" (PDF). Proceedings of History Week. Historical Society of Malta. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2016.
- Brincat, Joseph M. (1995). "Malta 870–1054 Al-Himyari's Account and its Linguistic Implications" (PDF). Valletta: Said International. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016.
- Cardona, David (2008–2009). "The known unknown: identification, provenancing, and relocation of pieces of decorative architecture from Roman public buildings and other private structures in Malta". Malta Archaeological Review (9).
- Cassar, Carmel (2000). A Concise History of Malta. ISBN 1870579526.
- Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 461–546.
- De Lucca, Denis (1979). "Mdina: Baroque town planning in 18th century Mdina". Heritage: An Encyclopedia of Maltese Culture and Civilization. 1. Midsea Books Ltd.
- Depasquale, Suzannah; Cardona, Neville Juan (2005). Site Catalogue: The Domvs Romana – Rabat Malta. ISBN 9993270318.
- Filigheddu, Paolo (2007), "Die Ortsnamen des Mittelmeerraums in der Phönizischen und Punischen Überlieferung", Ugarit-Forschungen: Internationales Jahrbuch für die Altertumskunde Syrien-Palästinas, vol. 38 2006, Munster: Ugarit Verlag, pp. 149–266. (in German)
- Gaul, Simon (2007). Malta, Gozo and Comino. New Holland Publishers. ISBN 9781860113659.
- MacGill, Thomas (1839). A hand book, or guide, for strangers visiting Malta. Malta: Luigi Tonna.
- Sagona, Claudia (2015). The Archaeology of Malta. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107006690.
- Said-Zammit, George A. (2006). The Architectural Heritage of the Maltese Islands. ISBN 9789993260738.
- Spiteri, Stephen C. (2004–2007). "The 'Castellu di la Chitati' the medieval castle of the walled town of Mdina" (PDF). Arx – Online Journal of Military Architecture and Fortification (1–4). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2015.
- Vella, John (January 2023), "Greek Words in Maltese Harbour Toponymy" (PDF), Athens Journal of Mediterranean Studies, vol. 9, pp. 25–52.