Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1496720
2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 APRIL 2023 NEWS Thank you... for having bought this newspaper The good news is that we're not raising the price of our newspaper We know times are still hard, but we have pledged to keep giving our readers quality news they deserve, without making you pay more for it. So thank you, for making it your MaltaToday Support your favourite newspaper with a special offer on online PDF subscriptions. Visit bit.ly/2X9csmr or scan the QR code Subscriptions can be done online on agendabookshop.com Same-day delivery at €1 for orders up to 5 newspapers per address. Subscribe from €1.15 a week Same-day print delivery from Miller Distributors mt JAMES DEBONO WORKS on a social housing pro- ject in Fgura close to Buleben industrial estate have uncovered a stone slab with an Arabic in- scription dating back to medieval times. The discovery is being consid- ered a major find, which throws light on a relatively unknown period of Maltese history when a significant part of the population was Muslim. The Arabic inscription was found in a naturally carved well in fields fronting Triq id-De- jma, Triq il-Karmnu and Triq tax-Xemx u l-Qamar, where the Planning Authority recently ap- proved a social housing project. The stone slab was found along pottery dating back to before the 13th century. The archaeological evaluation of the site also led to the discovery of several silo pits and agricultural trenches. An official of the Superintend- ence for Cultural Heritage de- scribed the historical artefact as "a limestone prismatic stele, truncated at each end, bearing Arabic script." The script is probably written in Kufic, an alphabet used by early Muslims to record the Qurʾān. This angular, slow-moving script was often used on tombstones and coins as well as inscriptions on buildings. But the calligraphic style found in Fgura still needs to be con- firmed. The slab also includes other markings "which may rep- resent symbols rather than writ- ing". This artefact is typological- ly very similar to several stelae which were discovered in the early 20th century when Sir Temi Zammit was excavating the Ro- man Domus outside Mdina, and found an Arab cemetery which had been built on top of the re- mains of the Domus. Apart from another example found at Savina Square in Victo- ria in 1901, this is the only oth- er example known to have been found outside Rabat, "making this discovery very significant and rare, both archaeologically as well as historically" according to the SCH. The Superintendence is being assisted by an expert in the Ara- bic language from the University of Malta to aid in deciphering the inscription, something consid- ered essential to determine its original use and provide accurate dating. The inscription was found Rare Arabic inscription unearthed during Fgura housing project works The Majmuna stone is the most famous Islamic artifact allegedly found between Xewkija and Sannat in the 18th century