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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 31 MAY 2015 News 17 JAMES DEBONO PROF. Jeremy Johns, a world au- thority on Medieval Sicily who lectures at the University of Ox- ford Institute of Oriental Studies, is calling on the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage to publish archaeological research related to the Roman, Norman and Arab period. Johns is a Professor of the Art & Archaeology of the Islamic Medi- terranean. His research has focused on the archaeology, history and art history of Sicily under Islamic and Norman rule. Johns's appeal coincides with the death of Prof. Godfrey Wettinger, whose historical research has dis- proved the myth of the continuity of Christianity in Malta between the time of St Paul and the present day. But the results of archaeological research, some dating back to the 1990s, remains unpublished. Interviewed by MaltaToday, Johns laments that displays of the National Archaeological Museum currently end with the Phoenicians, and completely ignore the Roman, the Arab and the Christian Medi- eval periods. He argues that given the paucity of written sources from the 9th to the 14th centuries, archaeological evidence is especially important for the reconstruction of the medieval history of the Maltese Islands, when the culture and language of modern Malta began to evolve. For example, one reading of the written sources suggests that Malta was largely uninhabited and lacked any centres of permanent settle- ment on Malta and Gozo between 869 and 1048. "In the absence of new written sources, that hypothesis can only be tested by archaeology," Johns says. Johns refers to preliminary con- clusions of the survey of 26 medi- eval sites published by Alessandra Molinari and Nathaniel Cutajar in 1999, which would seem to indicate that the hypothesis of abandon- ment requires at the very least sig- nificant modification in the light of the archaeological evidence. But the evidence upon which those preliminary conclusions were based has still not been fully published, and so cannot be scrutinised. Moreover, in the 17 years since their survey was conducted, no new evidence of occupation in the Maltese Islands between the late 9th and mid-11th century has been published – "at least, none of which I am aware". He refers to the extensive excava- tions carried out by the Superin- tendence in Mdina – the very site that is most likely to provide the most useful evidence for the prob- lem of continuity of occupation – to say that their findings have not yet been published; not even, for example, in the form of preliminary reports published online. "It is the responsibility of the Superintendence to ensure that the findings of fieldwork that it conducts are published fully and promptly". He acknowledges that the Super- intendence may lack sufficient re- sources to fulfil that responsibility. If this is the case Johns calls for additional funds by the govern- ment or, in the case of excavations carried out on sites earmarked for development, by the developers of the site or sites in question. But the failure to publish the re- sults of archaeological fieldwork is only one aspect of the problem. The catalyst for the 1999 survey of medieval sites by Molinari and Cutajar was the proposal by the Na- tional Museum of Archaeology to open a new wing dedicated to the medieval archaeology of the Mal- tese Islands. "Again, after 16 years, no perma- nent exhibit of medieval archae- ology has materialised, and the schoolchild or the tourist could be forgiven for believing that the ar- chaeology of these islands begins with the Neolithic period and ends with the Phoenicians, except at Ra- bat, where Romans lived and Arabs died." According to Johns, if the Super- intendence is unable to publish the results of archaeological fieldwork, and to make them available to Her- itage Malta for exhibition, "then af- ter (say) five years have elapsed, the records and the finds of excavation should be made available to quali- fied scholars and students for them to study and publish". Planning applications taking toll on archaeology Contacted by MaltaToday, Super- intendent Dr Anthony Pace reiter- ated the commitment to publish and making publicly accessible the results of archaeological investiga- tions. "We hope that we will be able to overcome the perennial problems that we face because of a lack of re- sources," he said. Pace announced that the Super- intendence is planning to publish a number of landmark archaeologi- cal investigations on medieval sites by the end of this year. "The Superintendence has car- ried out these excavations during construction emergency excava- tions in a number of localities. These rescue excavations have taken place over a number of years. We hope that the publication of these reports will be a significant and constructive contribution to the ongoing debate regarding Mal- ta's Middle Ages." Pace claims that achieving the re- quired standards of a good scien- tific report is both time consuming and requires resources, which are in short supply. "Much of this work takes place in our unpaid private time away from the office. Although we are keen to publish, we are also aware of the sound standards that are re- quired." The onslaught of development applications is one of the factors limiting the Superintendence's ability to focus on its application. This is because the Superin- tendence is regularly asked to investigate sites earmarked for development which may impact on archaeologically sensitive sites. In a number of cases the Superin- tendence, which has a very limited staff complement, is even asked to monitor works on these sites. "The workload of the Super- intendence has dramatically in- creased, in the main part because of MEPA and development-relat- ed matters. This year we expect our workload to double compared to that of 2013." Yet the human and financial re- sources of the Superintendence remain at a disproportionately low level. "In such circumstances, real people issues, dealing with devel- opment investment and employ- ment drivers have to be given pri- ority over those of enthusiasts of Maltese history and archaeology. For the professional researchers working at the Superintendence, whose wish is to advance their work through publication, such choices are unfortunate, but real," Pace said. Notwithstanding these severe limitations the Superintendence is pursuing the objective of pub- lishing the first key archaeological studies for the Middle Ages. "Further studies are planned to be published in the following years. The regularity and speed with which the follow up publica- tions will be produced depends very much on what resources are available to pursue these studies at the expected scientific stand- ard." No signs of suppression of evidence – Johns While calling for the publica- tion of this research, Jeremy Johns insists that there is no reason "to conclude that evidence for the Arab and Muslim past is being de- liberately suppressed". In 2013 the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage had denied a re- quest by researcher Mark Camill- eri to publish a list of all archaeo- logical objects dated from 800AD to 1400AD – a period which co- incides with the Arab occupation and continued Muslim presence in the island in subsequent years. In a letter sent to Camilleri, the Superintendence claimed that it was exempted from the Freedom of Information Act because the publication of the information re- quested would prejudice academic and scientific research which is still taking place. On his part, Camilleri accused the Superintendence of serving as a "propagandistic machine which controls and abuses historical evi- dence for religious and ideological ends," an accusation which was denied by Pace, who insisted that "all bona fide researchers who have worked with the Superintendence recognise the impartial scientific research of this institution". In December 2013 Pace told Mal- taToday that the results of all ar- chaeological investigations related to the Arab period were to be pub- lished in two years' time. 'Shed light on Arab period' leading academic pleads Oxford academic Jeremy Johns makes an impassioned plea to the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage to publish research which could shed some light on the Arab period Historian Godfrey Wettinger, who in 1966 discovered the Kantilena Oxford academic Jeremy Johns The Majmuna stone: the marble gravestone of a Saracen girl named Majmuna found in a temple in Xewkija, dating back to 1173. Written in Kufic, it concludes saying, "You who read this, see that dust covers my eyelids, in my place and in my house, nothing but sadness and weeping; what will my resurrection be like?" The 1198, Empress Constance document addressed to "the whole people of the entire island of Malta and of the entire island of Gozo, our loyal Christian and Saracen subjects alike (Latin) / to all the Christians and the Muslims of Malta and Gozo – may God guide them! (Arabic)". The Latin text of this document has long been known from late medieval copies, but reading it together with the hitherto unknown Arabic text gives much new information about late twelfth-century Sicily and Malta.