Catalogue of Artefacts from Malta in the British Museum

Description

The archaeology of the Maltese archipelago is remarkable. Lying at the heart of the central Mediterranean, ancient lives were, at times, moulded by isolation and harsh elements and the landscape is shaped by millennia of intensive land use. Ancient finds from the islands are rare, and those held in the British Museum form an important collection. Represented is a wide cultural range, spanning the Early and Late Neolithic, the Bronze Age, Roman and more recent historic periods. From the early 1880s, Malta attracted a fascinating array of historians, collectors and travellers and, on one level, the British Museum’s holdings represent their activities, but on another, the collections reflect the complex path antiquarianism has played out in Malta as it moved steadily toward fledgling archaeological investigations. Significantly, artefacts excavated by notable Maltese archaeologist, Sir Themistocles Zammit, at the key Neolithic site of Tarxien, and those uncovered by Margaret Murray at Borġ in-Nadur form a crucial part of the collection. Table of Contents Introduction: Antiquarian and Archaeological Pursuits in Malta The Archaeological Sequence of Malta Catalogues: Collection 1. Joseph Becket Collings (1836) Collection 2. Sir Charles Thomas Newton (1852) Collection 3. Reverend Greville John Chester (1864–1886) Collection 4. Charles Townley (1869) Collection 5. Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks (1877) Collection 6. John Scott Tucker (1879) Collection 7. T. W. N. Robinson (1886) Collection 8. Professor Sir Themistocles Zammit (1919–1923) Collection 9. Leonard Halford Dudley Buxton (1921) Collection 10. Basil Browne (1921) Collection 11. Sir William Martin Conway, Baron Conway of Allington (1923) Collection 12. Margaret Murray (1923) Collection 13. Dr Gordon Ward (1927–1933) Collection 14. George Fabian Lawrence (1936) Collection 15. Arthur John Matthews (1937) Collection 16. Mrs Barchard (1947) Collection 17. Mrs Frank Baxter (1948) Collection 18. H. E. Coulson (1959) Collection 19. G. S. Bagley (1961) Collection 20. F.W. Robins (1963) Collection 21. Charles Taylor Trechmann (1964) Collection 22. Dr A. W. J. Houghton (1971–1974) Collection 23. Harris Dunscombe Colt (1973) Collection 24. Captain Macleod (1980) Collection 25. Mr E. de C. Tillet (1984) Collection 26. Helen Douglas Finlay (1987) Collection 27. A. H. L. F Pitt-Rivers (1991) Collection 28. John Pierpont Morgan Collection 29. Henry Christy Collection 30. Unknown Donors Collection 1. Joseph Becket Collings Collection 2. Sir Charles Thomas Newton Collection 3. Reverend Greville John Chester Collection 4. Charles Townley Collection 5. Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks Collection 6. John Scott Tucker Collection 7. T. W. N. Robinson Collection 8. Professor Sir Themistocles Zammit POA 198 Series, Possibly from Zammit’s Collection Collection 9. Leonard Halford Dudley Buxton Collection 10. Basil Browne Collection 12. Margaret Murray Collection 13. Dr Gordon Ward Collection 14. George Fabian Lawrence Collection 15. Arthur John Matthews Collection 16. Mrs Barchard Collection 17. Mrs Frank Baxter Collection 18. H. E. Coulson Collection 19. G. S. Bagley Collection 20. F. W. Robins Collection 21. Charles Taylor Trechmann Collection 22. Dr A. W. J. Houghton Collection 23. Harris Dunscombe Colt Collection 24. Captain Macleod Collection 25. Mr E. de C. Tillet Collection 26. Helen Douglas Finlay Collection 27. Pitt-Rivers Museum Collection 28. John Piermont Morgan Collection 29. Henry Christy Collection 30. Unknown Donors Catalogue Figures Bibliography Appendix: 1. Correspondence between E. Magri SJ and E.A. Wallis Budge on the Bighi Inscriptions 2. Correspondence between M.A.Murray and Mr Smith