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11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 17 FEBRUARY 2019 CULTURE ENVIRONMENT A walk in rocky habitat at this time of year may bring us face to face with this pale pink beauty. Like all (but one) of our orchids, the Maltese pyramidal (M. orkida pirami- dali ta' Malta) is a short plant but it makes up for that with sheer good looks. But this is not just a pretty flower: it's also an endemic, something that always lifts up the heart of any naturalist proud of his/her country's wildlife. Considering Malta's small size, we have plenty of endemics (i.e. species that occur nowhere else on earth) but it is quite normal that endemics are common on islands. Since island plants and animals are isolated and unable to mix with their main- land counterparts, they often evolve special characteristics. Apart from pride and joy, endemics also bind us with a re- sponsibility, which is to ensure their survival for the rest of the world. Species are not the property of any particular country or nation where they occur – they belong to the earth and to everyone. Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 552: FILM CLUB Find out more – https://foemalta.org/event/cineambjent1/ Text and Photo Victor Falzon 648. MALTESE PYRAMIDAL ORCHID AFTER over ten years exploring the surface of the Phoenician Shipwreck of Xlendi Bay, a team led by the University of Malta has planned and executed the world's first archaeological exca- vation by divers at a depth of 110 metres. This talk covers aspects related to the logisti- cal preparations prior to the diving, new meth- odologies used for scientific work at this depth as well as results that have emanated from the past two seasons of investigations. Professor Timmy Gambin, Senior Lecturer in Maritime Archaeology in the Department of Classics and Archaeology, University of Malta, will be giving a lecture entitled Scratching be- low the surface… excavating the Phoenician shipwreck off Gozo on Wednesday, 20 Febru- ary 2019. The presentation is part of the lecture pro- gramme of The Archaeological Society Malta and will be held at 6pm at the National Mu- seum of Archaeology, Republic Street, Valletta. Excavating the Phoenician shipwreck off Gozo Mortem – a Roman's last journey Scratching below the surface Diving on the Xlendi wreck THE 'body' of a deceased Ro- man aristocrat has been put on display for public viewing in a prominent part of the Domus Romana in Rabat, Malta. The funeral will take place today, leaving the Domus towards St Paul's Catacombs, where he will be laid to rest. Herit- age Malta is inviting the gen- eral public to participate in this Roman's last journey and in a day full of activities during the event Mortem. Mortem is inspired by the nine-day ancient Roman festi- val Parentalia which runs until Thursday in honour of the an- cestors and the departed loved ones. During these celebrations, Romans and early Christians renewed funerary rites and hosted commemorative meals known as the refrigerium or agape, at the catacombs. The event is offering an im- mersive experience to both adults and children. Partici- pants can engage in an ancient Roman funeral, taste food based on recipes from that period, join in the excavations with archaeologists, take part in a treasure hunt, and view at close range with the Senior Cu- rator some of the artefacts at St Paul's Catacombs museum. A highlight theme is the 3D room which will be open to the public for the first time today. Here, one will be able to expe- rience and navigate through the 3D models of a number of catacombs without the need to actually go down to the cata- combs themselves. Activities will be held as fol- lows: 9.30am: Lecture (in Mal- tese) - The Gods of Death. The Death of Gods. Location: Chil- dren's Pavilion, St Paul's Cata- combs, Rabat, Malta. 10.00am: Children's Treas- ure Hunt. Location: Children's Pavilion Plaza. 11.00am: The Roman Fu- neral re-enactment. Location: Starting from Domus Romana and proceeding to St Paul's Catacombs. 12.00pm: Legio X Fretensis soldiers re-enactment. Loca- tion: Central field. 1.30pm: 'Open the show- case' - the Senior Curator of St Paul's Catacombs will discuss archaeological artefacts from the museum with the audience. Location: Visitor Centre. 3.30pm: The Roman Funeral re-enactment. Location: Start- ing from St Paul's Catacombs and proceeding to St Augus- tine's Catacombs. Catacombs will be open from 9.00am – 5.00pm (last admis- sion 4.30pm). For this event, admission price to St Paul's Catacombs will be reduced to €2, and will include access to St Augus- tine's Catacombs. More information is available on Heritage Malta's website www.heritagemalta.org PHOTO BY UOM/J.WOOD 'Body' of a deceased Roman aristocrat on display at the Domus Romana