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9 gozotoday | FRIDAY • 19 JULY 2024 CULTURE A lucky roll of the dice might not have pre- vented Neptune's wrath. The evidence of the Roman God's presumed ire hangs on the wall of a room dedicated to ancient wrecks, upstairs at the Gozo Museum of Archaeology located within the Citadel precincts in Rabat. George Azzopardi, Heritage Malta's Principal Curator for Phoenician, Roman and Medieval Sites, points to a lead an- chor stock, the upper part of an anchor in use in the Mediterranean between the 4th century BC and the 4th century AD. On ei- ther flank of the stock, there are worn rep- resentations of astragals. These astragals or astragaloi (Greek) / astragali (Latin), are lead reproductions of the knucklebones of sheep or goats, which were used as dice in the ancient world. The luckiest cast of the dice was always the 'throw of Venus' (iactus Veneris), and each bone on the anchor stock was rep- licated with a different side up to display this fortunate combination. "The game of knucklebones was played in the same way we throw dice nowadays," George men- tions. "The winning combination on the anchor stock was thought to bring good luck to the sailors or passengers aboard and would prevent disasters at sea or avert tempests." Modern audiences may also relate to the astragaloi / astragali, as many people have their own superstitious beliefs and good luck charms that they might carry on their person to psychologically comfort them and ward off the evil eye. To this day, for example, it is still considered bad luck to change the name of a vessel. Roman anchors were usually made of wood featuring a lead stock at the neck of its shaft and lead collar lower down. Very often, the tips of both the flukes were cov- ered in lead to further weight the perish- able wood. A modern reconstruction of the anchor can be found in the same room within the Gozo Museum of Archaeology. When Homer called Gozo 'The Navel of the Sea', Xlendi was a Phoenician port. To- day, Xlendi's Coat of Arms continue to fea- ture a Latin motto, 'Navium Tutela', which means 'a safe haven for ships'. "Xlendi Bay was used as a maritime hub for commer- cial trade. Ships carrying goods coming from North Africa on their way to Eu- rope or the northern Mediterranean and vice versa could stop at Xlendi harbour to load or unload any cargo. This places the anchor stock in a broader Mediterranean context," George Azzopardi explains. In contrast to Malta's many havens, Gozo's coastline did not feature any safe natural harbours other than Xlendi Creek until the British began building a breakwa- ter in Mġarr in 1841. If the ancient Phoeni- cian and Roman shipwrecks that stud the seabed in the Xlendi Underwater Archaeo- logical Park are anything to go by, then this little creek may not always have lived up to the motto on its coat of arms. "Unfortu- nately, in the case of our anchor, if this was part of a shipwreck, which it seems to have been as it was discovered with another ceramic assemblage including amphorae at the mouth of the bay, the astragals did not bring those on board any good luck. Travelling by ship in those times was more perilous than it is nowadays," Azzopardi comments. In Roman times, the Xlendi Creek sea- shore would have extended further inland right up to where the present day 'Our Lady of Carmel' chapel is located on the Rabat road, just 1.5 miles from the cita- del. Roman ships would have been able to moor alongside the freshwater springs lo- cated close by, but the great earthquake of January 1693, with its epicentre in Noto in southern Sicily, changed the topography of Xlendi forever. Rocks were shaken off the cliffs of Xlendi, according to an eyewitness account recorded by the Gozitan linguist, historian and cleric Agius de Soldanis. Furthermore, a massive rockfall in Wied il-Għarbi created a land barrier that short- ened the creek. As a result of underwater seismic activity, Soldanis records, quoting the same eyewitness, 'the sea receded, but only returned halfway' to where the Xlendi sea shore is located nowadays. Visit Heritage Malta's website (store section) to acquire Gozo combo tickets, saving you time and money, and to watch George Azzopardi speaking about the an- chor stock in the Treasure to Meet You section. Superstitious mariners: A Roman lead anchor stock at the Gozo Museum of Archaeology