Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1216530
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 MARCH 2020 6 CULTURE HISTORY Book Review Fuq kaxxa tal-birra rasha 'l isfel Mario Cardona Horizons, 2019 MARIO Cardona has the ability to write about the most significant things happen- ing at all times; be it death, the absurdity of life, youth, natural landscapes, anger when faced by injustice, the feeling of being left socially on the fringe of society, the greed for power and the overwhelming sense of love, without forgetting that poetry is a word. A poet's biggest challenge is his skill in using and organising words and their sounds in a world of their own – this be- ing the raw material of poetry. The language creates a distinction be- tween the spirit and the subject matter. Cardona's poetry does not simply reflect life but is an act of involvement in life it- self. This is a collection of works which yet again brings us face to face with the na- ture of poetry itself because it challenges conventions and traditional rhythms. It is hence a type of poetry which takes us back to the roots of the words, the sound of certain consonants and the seemingly innocent complicity of vowels; the tone that becomes like sizzling pincers in our resignation or indifference; the rhythms which sometimes make us feel dizzy. Mario Cardona negotiates his relation with every word in the poetical dwellings he creates in the most natural way pos- sible, because this is profound and nec- essary within his little dynamic niche of experiences. Shedding light on 1980s' archaeological discovery IN the 1980s, excavation works were carried out in an area known as Museum Esplanade in Rabat by a group of archaeologists from the University of California in Los Angeles and the Grupp Arke- ologiku Malti. These excavations revealed some very interest- ing data but this was never properly studied and published. Three decades later, the field notes and pottery from these excavations have been studied, offering a fresh look at the archaeology of the ancient Roman capital. Amongst the Ro- man-period archaeological structures, a wealth of important finds and pottery artefacts were re- covered, offering clues about our Roman ances- tors' daily lives. On Friday, 6 March, at 6:30pm, Heritage Malta is inviting the public to attend to a lecture by Dr Maxine Anastasi who will be presenting the initial findings of this small archaeological excavation, by combining a reading of the sequence of the ar- chaeological remains identified, and the study of the pottery that was retrieved. The lecture will be held at St Paul's Catacombs audio visual hall. Ad- mission is free of charge. Maxine Anastasi is a lecturer in Roman Archae- ology at the Department of Classics and Archae- ology at the University of Malta. She has partic- ipated in a number of the University of Malta's past excavation projects, including those at Tas- Silg and Ghar ix-Xih. Presently, she is supervising the University's current training excavations at the Zejtun Roman villa and Tas-Silg. For further information, visit www.heritagemal- ta.org Pottery found in Rabat Pottery found Archaeological section drawing