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5 gozotoday | FRIDAY • 25 JULY 2025 NEWS ARCHAEOLOGICAL research led by Dutch experts Dra Veron- ica Veen and Dr Adrian van der Blom suggests the presence of at least ten Mesolithic sites across Malta and Gozo, potentially chal- lenging previous assumptions about early human activity in the Maltese islands. Between 1987 and 1991, during fieldwork commissioned by the then Museums Department, the researchers reportedly discovered dozens of limestone artifacts— including cores, flakes, and tools sometimes made from beach peb- bles—scattered among Neolithic and Temple Period sites in Gozo and northern Malta. Due to dis- turbances over millennia and lack of stratification, these finds were initially overlooked and mostly excluded from publications, aside from a single limestone spear- head featured in their 1991 book The People Behind the Temples. The idea that these objects could be Mesolithic, dating before 6000 BC when farming first arrived, was long considered improbable. At the time, many doubted that hunter-gatherers with primitive technology could have crossed 85 to 140 kilometers of perilous sea to reach the islands centuries before Neolithic settlers. Howev- er, this skepticism was reportedly overturned following the April 2025 publication in Nature of re- sults from the Latnija site, which confirmed that Mesolithic people may have had seafaring capabili- ties. According to the researchers, this "breakthrough" could recon- textualize enigmatic finds from over 35 years ago, preserved in field notes, drawings, and pho- tographs. The original materials, reportedly spread across 48 bags covering 22 sites, were either delivered to authorities or con- fiscated amid the controversial tac-Cawla affair (1991-1995). Subsequent reassessment is said to have revealed at least three more Mesolithic sites on Marfa Ridge near Latnija, all open-air locations consistent with season- al activity. The Latnija site itself is believed to have served as a winter shelter. One central site on the ridge, once part of a tem- ple fragment with a Ghar Dalam substrate, was destroyed in 1992 despite earlier documentation and Dutch researcher interest. Before its destruction, it report- edly yielded Neolithic ceramics and significant Mesolithic tools, including an awl thought to be used for piercing hides and finely crafted scrapers for hide process- ing—items suggesting female-re- lated work. Additional sites further east have produced tools such as a plane for removing fur, a knife fashioned from a beach pebble, and small limestone ar- rowheads, which represent a toolkit typical of Meso- lithic hunter-gath- erers and may provide important context for under- standing the Latnija discovery. Across the Gozo Channel, a comparable concentration of Mesolithic sites is claimed to have been identified near Qala. These locations reportedly feature a rich assemblage of limestone cores, flakes, and tools similar in function to those at Latnija. The Qala sites are said to have also contained small imported flint arrowheads, including a distinc- tive red one sourced from Sicily's southern coast, supporting theo- ries that these Mesolithic naviga- tors may have paved the way for later Neolithic migration from Sicily's Palma di Montechiaro re- gion. Further evidence of Mesolith- ic activity has reportedly been found near Mgarr, Malta, where artifacts excavated in 1927 by Themistocles Zammit from be- neath the floors of the ta'Hagrat Temples have now been recog- nized as Mesolithic. This cluster suggests the immigrants may have been drawn to the fertile Gnejna Bay valley. In Gozo, outside the Gozo Channel concentration, a single Meso- lithic tool was uncovered in Is- Srug Street, Xaghra, though this important site reportedly faces threats from ongoing construc- tion. While the full picture of Meso- lithic seafarers in Malta and Gozo is still emerging, these discoveries offer potentially valuable insights into their seasonal settlement patterns, material culture, and maritime capabilities. Veen and van der Blom are pre- paring a book titled The Very First Maltese: Hunter-Gatherers and Early Farmers at Both Sides of the Gozo Channel, scheduled for launch at the Malta Book Festival on Saturday, 8 November 2025. The event will include a public lec- ture on these groundbreaking find- ings. Mesolithic sites uncovered in Gozo