Robert Newall's Primary Record of the Prehistoric Ship Graffiti at Hal Tarxien, Malta: new thoughts on their significance

Abstract

Recent research on now indistinct ship graffiti in the Third Temple at Hal Tarxien led to discovery of a full‐size record made 50 years ago. Correspondence elucidates contemporary interpretation of the context. Colonization of the island from Sicily c.5000 BC probably involved large flotation devices similar to those identified on the lowest tier of graffiti. A Neolithic date for some of the images finds support with the identification of a raft supporting the cult statue located in the same part of the temple.

抽象

罗伯特·紐厄尔 (Robert Newall) 马-他哈尔塔尔欣史前船像雕刻画的早期记录:对其意义的新认识

对第三神庙现今已模糊的船像雕刻画的最新研究使我们发现了50年前这些画像的原尺寸记录。这些-件则说明了当时解读的背景。公元前5000年在西-里对该岛的殖民开拓中很可能使用了与雕刻画下方三分之一处所辨识出的那些图像类似的大型漂浮装置。对处于神庙同一地点的一-载有崇拜雕像的小筏图像的认定则支持将某些发现的图像的年代定为新石器时代。

关键词:小筏, 图像, 还愿, 狄安娜·伍尔纳 (Diana Woolner) , 瓦努阿图, 巨石, 早期旅行

羅伯特•紐厄爾 (Robert Newall) 馬-他哈爾塔爾欣史前船像雕刻畫的早期記錄:對其意義的新認識

對第三神廟現今已模糊的船像雕刻畫的最新研究使我們發現了50年前這些畫像的原尺寸記錄。這些-件則說明了當時解讀的背景。公元前5000年在西-里對該島的殖民開拓中很可能使用了-雕刻畫下方三分之-處所辨識出的那些圖像類似的大型漂浮裝置。對處于神廟同一地點的一-載有崇拜雕像的小筏圖像的認定則支持將某些發現的圖像的年代定爲新石器時代。

Abstracto

Registro Primario de Robert Newall del grafiti prehistórico de un barco en Hal Tarxien, Malta: nuevas ideas sobre su significado

Investigaciones recientes sobre el ahora borroso grafiti de un barco en el Tercer Templo llevaron al descubrimiento de un registro a escala 1:1 elaborado hace 50 años. La correspondencia elucida la interpretación contemporánea del contexto. La colonización de las isla desde Sicilia c. 5000 a.C. probablemente involucró grandes vehículos flotantes similares a aquellos identificados en el grafíti del nivel más bajo. El fechamiento Neholítico de las imágenes halla soporte en la identificación de una balsa que sostiene la estatua de culto situada en la misma parte del templo.

Palabras clave: balsa, iconografía, exvoto, Diana Woolner, Vanuatu, megalitos, viajes tempranos

Traducción: Ricardo Borrero L

Key words:

• Hal Tarxien
• rafts
• iconography
• ex votos
• Diana Woolner
• Vanuatu
• megaliths
• early voyages

Acknowledgement

I am grateful to Richard Barker for drawing my attention to the existence of the Woolner archive, to the two anonymous referees for their helpful comments and to the Society of Antiquaries of London for permission to reproduce items from the Woolner archive.

Notes

1. Diana Woolner FSA was an English archaeologist who had assisted her father in Egypt before she married a Royal Navy surgeon. He was stationed in Valetta where she was residing at this time. She admitted to John Evans that she had been searching his Xenxija spoil heaps, retrieving small finds that had been missed. He took this in good part and replied, ‘It's certainly a salutary lesson to me that one can't be too careful in excavation! I remember at the time being puzzled by the lack of small objects of that kind…’ (Evans to Woolner 13 September 1956, SAL/MS/ 977/6). The letter is a rare insight into her meticulous approach to archaeology. Presumably a minute inspection of the Tarxien stones resulted in a discovery missed by everyone else.

2. Woolner's unpublished note reproduced here, together with her published observations (1957: 61), show that Joseph Muscat errs in stating ‘Unfortunately Woolner was not aware of the existence of other graffiti in Malta besides those found at Tarxien’ (Muscat, 2000: 49).

3. A very plough‐damaged image 0.97m high found in the Temple of Tas‐Silig is a candidate for a cult statue (Gregory and Cilia, 2005: fig. 96). It differs from the Tarxien statue, being carved in relief and standing rigidly upright on a narrow integral platform incised above a bas‐relief of running spirals. In the Temple of Hagar Qim, the ankles and calves are all that remain of two figures standing side by side. They are carved from a large block of limestone, but unfortunately the front of the integral base on which they stand is too weathered for any decoration to survive (Gregory and Cilia, 2005: 179).

4. The original stone sculptures are preserved in the National Museum of Archaeology (Tagliaferro, nd: 24). Note that the replica cult figure displayed in the Third Temple has been adjusted so that it is upright.

5. The author observed Thames River Police cadets having to lean backwards to counter the pull of an improvised sail to move their RIB upstream. Ancient iconography of rafts under sail is lacking, or has not been recognized. An exception is some 2nd century AD coinage depicting the stone tower of Taposiris Magna. Plutarch records the legend that Isis sailed a papyrus boat through the marshes of nearby Lake Mareotis searching for the mutilated body of Osiris (Vörös, 2001: 86; Gwyn Griffiths, 1970: 145). The catalogue of the Milan exhibition devoted to Isis confirmed the rarity of imagery (Arslan, 1997). A contorniate coin illustrated by Johnstone best shows the backwards stance resulting from the pull of a hand‐held sail (Johnstone, 1980: fig. 6.2).