The Roman Municipia of Malta and Gozo: The Epigraphic Evidence

Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents Page
List of Figures
	Figure 82. A coin from Byblos showing a betyl in the middle of a sacred enclosure of an old shrine evidently dedicated to Hera. Dated to the early 3rd century AD, this coin gives testimony to the survival of aniconic cults in Roman imperial times. Source:
	Figure 81. Mtarfa hill (in Malta) outside the ancient urban centre and town of Melite. On the basis of inscription CIL, X, 7494 found there, the hill seems to have been the place where an old temple of Proserpina once stood. The photograph reproduced here
	Figure 80. The facade of the Auberge d’Italie in Merchants Street in Valletta adorned with the bust of Grandmaster Fra Gregorio Caraffa (reigned from 1680 to 1690) above the main door. It is claimed that marble from the temple of Proserpina on Mtarfa hill
	Figure 79. The inscription CIL, X, 7494 recording repairs and renovation works to an old temple of Proserpina by Chrestion, the procurator of the Maltese islands. It was found in fragments on Mtarfa hill, in Malta, in 1613. Photo © Daniel Cilia.
	Figure 78. Inscription CIL, X, 8318 commemorating the building (or rebuilding?) and consecration of what appears to have been a marble temple by ---- Claudius Iustus, patronus of the Maltese municipium and a local senate member. Today, it is on permanent
	Figure 77. The temple of Apollo in the town of Melite (today’s Mdina and Rabat, in Malta). This hypothetically reconstructed 3-D elevation is based upon the description of the same temple in inscription CIL, X, 7495 which mentions the four columns and fla
	Figure 76. North-oriented aerial image of Mdina, in Malta. Around 1747, digging operations within a stretch extending from infront of the casa del Magistrato (1) to St Peter’s monastery of the Benedictine nuns (2) yielded an inscribed pedestal carrying in
	Figure 75. Marble pedestal with inscription CIL, X, 7495 commemorating the building of a temple dedicated to Apollo by the Primus Melitensium. Currently, it forms part of the reserve collection at the National Archaeology Museum in Valletta, Malta. Photo:
	Figure 74. The statue from Gozo presumably representing Iulia Augusta in identification with Ceres. Detail showing what survives of the himation / palla (mantle). Pulled forward over the statue’s (missing) right shoulder which it may have covered only par
	Figure 73. The statue from Gozo presumably representing Iulia Augusta in identification with Ceres. Detail showing the vertically-oriented break on both lateral and, especially, front faces below the (missing) right shoulder. Also shown is the flaked-off
	Figure 72. North-oriented aerial image of the Gozo Citadel showing the area (encircled) of today’s Bernardo DeOpuo Street (1) which might have hosted some sort of a worshipping space (like a temple) where an imperial cult of Iulia Augusta identified with
	Figure 71. A fluted marble column shaft that was to be seen in a fine late Mediaeval townhouse (restored and rehabilitated in 1983 as a Folklore Museum) just across the street from the place where the inscribed stone CIL, X, 7501 was incorporated in what
	Figure 70. A marble column base incorporated as a wellhead to be seen in a fine late Mediaeval townhouse (restored and rehabilitated in 1983 as a Folklore Museum) just across the street from the place where the inscribed stone CIL, X, 7501 was incorporate
	Figure 69. The left side temple forming part of three temples standing next to each other in the capitol of Roman Sufetula (today, Sbeitla) in Tunisia. A niche, presumably intended for a cultic figure, can be seen in the centre on the rear wall of the tem
	Figure 68. Female statue. Villa of the Aviary, Park of the Roman villas, Carthage. Photo: The Author.
	Figure 67. Female statue. Byrsa Hill, Carthage. Photo: The Author.
	Figure 66. Female statue. Byrsa Hill, Carthage. Photo: The Author.
	Figure 65. Female statue. From the theatre at Segobriga (Spain). Late Tiberian epoch – Caligula’s reign. Now, at the Museo de Cuenca, also in Spain. Photo: © José Miguel Noguera Celdrán.
	Figure 64. Female statue. From the theatre at Segobriga (Spain). Late Tiberian epoch – Caligula’s reign. Now, at the Museo de Cuenca, also in Spain. Photo: © José Miguel Noguera Celdrán.
	Figure 63. Female statue. From the theatre at Segobriga (Spain). Late Tiberian epoch – Caligula’s reign. Now, at the Museo de Cuenca, also in Spain. Photo: © José Miguel Noguera Celdrán.
	Figure 62. Agrippina the Elder. AD 41 – 54. Now, at the Archaeological Museum of Palermo. Photo: The Author.
	Figure 61. Urania. Musei Capitolini, Rome. Photo: The Author.
	Figure 60. Probably, a mother-goddess (restored), possibly Ceres. 1st – 2nd century AD. Uffizi Gallery, Firenze. Photo: The Author.
	Figure 59. Probably, Ceres. End of 1st – beginning of 2nd century AD. Uffizi Gallery, Firenze. Photo: hiveminer.com.
	Figure 58. Probably, Faustina II, wife of emperor Marcus Aurelius. From the tanks of the Odeon at Carthage. 2nd century AD. Now, at the Bardo Museum, Tunis. Photo: The Author.
	Figure 57. Female statue. Formerly, on Trajan’s Arch, Merida (Spain). 2nd century AD. Now, at the Museum of Roman Art, Merida (Spain). Photo: The Author.
	Figure 56. Female statue. Vatican Museums. Photo: The Author.
	Figure 55. A deity or a deified imperial lady. From Porto Torres, Sardinia. End of 1st century AD. Now, at the Archaeological Museum of Sassari (Sardinia). Photo: The Author.
	Figure 54. Artemis restored as a Muse. 1st century AD. Naples Archaeological Museum. Photo: The Author.
	Figure 53. Demeter of Cnidos seated. From Asia Minor (Turkey). Now, at the British Museum (London). Photo: sammlung.theologie.uni-halle.de.
	Figure 52. Livia Augusta as Ceres. From Greece. Now, at Stourhead House, Wiltshire, UK. Photo: © National Trust (UK) / David Cousins.
	Figure 51. Kore – Persephone restored as Urania, c. AD 120. Now, at the Vatican Museums. Photo: The Author.
	Figure 50. Kore type statue. End of 1st – beginning of 2nd century AD. Now, at the Archaeological Museum of Palermo. Photo: The Author.
	Figure 49. Livia / Iulia Augusta as Ceres Augusta. From Leptis Magna (possibly, from a theatre). Late Tiberian epoch. Now, in Tripoli National Museum. Source: Bartman 1999: 107(Fig.85). Photo: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Rome.
	Figure 48. Livia. From the Villa of the Mysteries, Pompei. 1st century BC – Tiberian epoch. Now, at the Antiquarium di Boscoreale. Photo: The Author.
	Figure 47. Kore (left) with Triptolemos and Demeter / Ceres on a votive relief from the Plutonion at Eleusis, c. 400 BC. Now, at the Archaeological Museum of Eleusis. Source: Farnell 1907: Plate XXVIIb (facing p. 266).
	Figure 46. The statue from Gozo presumably representing Iulia Augusta in identification with Ceres and the base with inscription CIL, X, 7501 marking a dedication to the mentioned Iulia Augusta in identification with Ceres. Left: surviving statue and insc
	Figure 45. A somewhat stylised veiled female bust adorned with a three-tiered necklace with what appear to be integrated (rather than hung) reels or pendants(?). This bust represents Isis in assimilation with Sothis and Demeter. Now, at the Vatican Museum
	Figure 44. Votive terracotta statuette holding a piglet, the favourite offering of the goddess Demeter. She also seems to wear a three-tiered necklace. c. 5th century BC. Private collection. Photo: Michel Lara.
	Figure 43. Seated goddess (Demeter) stylised statuettes of the ‘kore’ type from the sanctuary of the underworld divinities in Agrigento, Sicily. They are adorned with tiered necklaces with hung pendants. 520 – 500 BC. Now, at the Archaeological Museum of
	Figure 42. One of the coin issues of Cossyra (modern Pantelleria) found in Malta where it appears to have also circulated. The reverse side carried a symbol of Tanit whom the female head profile with pronounced earrings and a three-tiered necklace (withou
	Figure 41. An elaborate three-tiered necklace with several hung pendants adorns the statue shown in Figure 40. The lowermost tier of this necklace carries a series of ram-head pendants and, below this, there are what appear to be two doves facing each oth
	Figure 40. An almost stylised statue betraying what appears to be an Egyptian-style headdress but, more importantly, an ‘Isis’ knot. This statue may have represented either Demeter / Ceres in assimilation with Isis or Ashtarte / Tanit in assimilation with
	Figure 39. What seem to be two ‘Tanit’ symbols respectively topped by a Punic caduceus while flanking another central ‘Tanit’ symbol on a votive tablet from Carthage. These may represent Tanit Pen-Baal / Tanit Face (or Manifestation) of Baal as seems to b
	Figure 38. A ‘Tanit’ symbol shown painted in red on a ceramic sherd found in Area 3 at Tas-Silġ sanctuary in Marsaxlokk (Malta) during archaeological excavations undertaken there in 1964 by the Missione Archeologica Italiana a Malta. It is topped by what
	Figure 37. Two standards / symbols of Tanit mounted on a pole and flanking a caduceus on a sea vessel as shown on a sacrificial stela from Carthage and where they could have been thus mounted to receive worship by those on board. Source: Brody 1998: 134(F
	Figure 36. Stela with ‘Tanit’ symbol topped by a Punic caduceus instead of a head / solar disc. Found at Carthage. 4th-2nd century BC. Now, at the British Museum (BM no 118787). Photo © The Trustees of the British Museum.
	Figure 35. The obverse side of a ‘Romano-Maltese’ semis issue of c. 160 BC. It carries the Greek legend ‘MEΛITAIΩN’ and a female head profile facing the Punic ‘Tanit’ symbol apparently shown as a standard mounted on a pole while its head / solar disc is r
	Figure 34. A bronze statuette of Isis nursing her son Horus. She carries a pair of horns (one of which is broken off) on top of a characteristically Egyptian headdress and a Hemhem crown. This statuette is in the Ägyptisches Museum Bonn, Germany. Photo: T
	Figure 33. A limestone relief depicting Isis-Thermouthis as half woman and half snake. She is also characterised by a typically Egyptian headdress and what appears to be a Hemhem crown on top. Probably from Fayoum, the relief is now in the Egyptian Museum
	Figure 32.  The obverse side of a ‘Romano-Maltese’ semis issue of c. 125 BC. It carries the Greek legend ‘MEΛITAIΩN’ and a female head profile facing an ear of grain: the symbol of Ceres. The female head profile wears an Egyptian-style headdress topped by
	Figure 31. What appears to have been a cistern on top of which the southern flank of Blasio de Alagona’s house facade appears to have been partially rebuilt. This presumed cistern was brought to light during street resurfacing works in the beginning of Se
	Figure 30. A comparatively large worked heterogeneous stone incorporated in the foundations of the facade of premises no 12 in Żenqa Street in the Gozo Citadel (see Figure 72) and on the same level with the same street’s surface. Unlike the remaining homo
	Figure 29. A comparatively large worked heterogeneous stone incorporated in the foundations of the facade of premises no 11 in Żenqa Street in the Gozo Citadel (see Figure 72) and on the same level with the same street’s surface. Unlike the remaining homo
	Figure 28. The house of Blasio de Alagona with Bernardo DeOpuo’s inscription (currently, a replica) above the (blocked) door on the southern flank of its facade (foreground) in Bernardo DeOpuo Street in the Gozo Citadel (see Figure 72). The earlier arched
	Figure 27. Portrait of Geta, the younger son of emperor Lucius Septimius Severus and younger brother of Caracalla. Probably AD 198, the year in which the young prince assumed the title of Caesar. This portrait is at the Musei Vaticani. Photo: The Author.
	Figure 26. Portrait of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Caracalla), the elder son of emperor Lucius Septimius Severus. Early 3rd century AD. This portrait is at the Gallerie degli Uffizi in Firenze. Photo: The Author.
	Figure 25. Portrait of emperor Lucius Septimius Severus, husband of Iulia Domna. Beginning of the 3rd century AD. This portrait is at the Römisch Germanisches-Museum in Cologne, Germany. Photo: The Author.
	Figure 24. What could have been a pedestal (now mutilated) that might have carried an inscription (CIL, X, 7502) marking a dedication to Iulia Domna. The framed part on the stone indicates the only visibly and recognisably remaining letters from the inscr
	Figure 23. Headless marble statue of empress Iulia Domna. Early 3rd century AD.  From Thuburbo Maius in Tunisia but, now, in the Bardo National Museum (Tunis), also in Tunisia. Photo: The Author.
	Figure 22. Marble portrait of Iulia Domna. AD 193 – c. 205. As imperial portraits were often periodically standardised, any possible statue of Iulia Domna on our presumed pedestal of this same period (see below) may have carried a similar head. This marbl
	Figure 21. Tombstone from St Oswald’s church graveyard in Durham (England) displaying the scallop shell motif on top. Photo: The Author.
	Figure 20. Relief portrait of a deceased couple within a scallop shell on a sarcophagus of the first half of the 4th century AD from the cemetery of St Calixtus in Rome. Apart from the portrait of the deceased couple, the sarcophagus carries also biblical
	Figure 19. The birth of the goddess Venus shown on a scallop shell rising above the sea waves. Mural on one of the walls of the House of Venus in Pompeii. Source: http://www.vroma.org/images/mcmanus_images/paula_chabot/house/pchouse.38.jpg (accessed on 17
	Figure 18. The entire funerary monument as shown on the original preparatory drawing preserved in the album ‘Series of preparatory drawings for the engraved edition ‘Picturesque journey around the islands of Sicily, Malta and Lipari’, 1782-1787’ kept at t
	Figure 17. The funerary monument as published by Jean Hoüel. The monument occupies the central space on plate CCLXI reproduced here from Hoüel (1787). Courtesy: National Library of Malta, Valletta.
	Figure 16. Cybele or Magna Mater on a limestone relief with Roman gods. From the second floor of the bell tower of Split Cathedral (Croatia). Mid-2nd century AD. Now, in Split Archaeology Museum, Split, Croatia. The cult of this goddess is also attested i
	Figure 15. A group of stone ossuaries with gabled lids and inscriptions. They are also about the same size and shape of the presumed ossuary carrying inscription CIL, X, 7506 at the Gozo Archaeology Museum in the Citadel, Victoria (Gozo). The stone ossuar
	Figure 14. A hypothetically drawn reconstruction showing the inscribed stone carrying inscription CIL, X, 7506 as an ossuary with its presumed covering lid (now, missing). The drawing of the gabled lid is based on those of several Classical period ossuari
	Figure 13. A funerary altar found in 1907 in a tomb shaft at Taċ-Ċagħki hill near Rabat (Malta). It carries a small depression (not so clearly visible) on top evidently to take offerings for the deceased. Photo: BSR Photographic Archive, Thomas Ashby Coll
	Figure 12. The inscribed stone carrying inscription CIL, X, 7506 on its front. Largely cubic in shape, it carries a round (almost tapering) concave basin hollowed on its top surface. According to its inscription, it was set up by a certain Lucius Marcius
	Figure 11. The cemetery area on the northern periphery of Dougga, in Tunisia, which is marked by both earlier (late prehistoric?) dolmens and Roman funerary monuments, suggesting a continuous use. A dolmen can be seen in the middle foreground while a pill
	Figure 10. North-oriented aerial image showing the area at the junction between Vajrinġa Street / Triq Vajrinġa and the small public square (Fuq it-Tomba) in Victoria, Gozo. Encircled area A marks the presumed location of the tomb cluster behind Canonico
	Figure 9. A section drawing dated 10th April 1834 showing one of the tombs – an underground rock-cut double-chambered tomb with a single common shaft – explored in the district / area of Vajrinġa Street / Triq Vajrinġa and It-Tomba behind Canonico Giusepp
	Figure 8. A glass urn (height: 34cm) in the form of a bottle containing cremated human remains and ashes. It was found in 1833, tightly sealed within a stone chest inside a tomb forming part of a tomb cluster in a field behind Canonico Giuseppe Grech’s ho
	Figure 7. Inscription CIL, X, 7508 dedicated to Marcus Vallius Rufus. It can be seen incorporated in the side-wall of the Citadel’s old gate, Victoria (Gozo). Photo: Manuel Ciantar.
	Figure 6. Inscription CIL, X, 7507 dedicated to Caius Vallius Postumus. Today, it is on permanent display at the Gozo Archaeology Museum in the Citadel, Victoria (Gozo). Photo: Manuel Ciantar.
	Figure 5. The external canal at the foot of the belfry on the northern side of the Matrice church (now, the Gozo Cathedral) and along what is now Fosse Street / Triq il-Fosos in the Gozo Citadel (see Figure 72) when it was exposed during street resurfacin
	Figure 4. Map of the Maltese islands engraved by Joseph Roux and, then, published again as a re-edition (1854) by Jean Joseph Allezard. It shows the name ‘Gozo’ for the second largest island and separately for its seemingly fortified town or urban centre.
	Figure 3. An inset map of the Maltese islands on a larger map of Sicily (1809) by T.F. Ehrmann. It shows the name ‘Gozzo’ for the second largest island and separately for its town or urban centre. Photo: catawiki.com.
	Figure 2. Map of the Maltese islands (1554) by the Genoese cartographer Battista Agnese. The main island and its (old) town share the same name: ‘Malta’, respectively as ‘Malta insvla’ and ‘Malta civitas’. Photo: ghajnsielem.com.
	Figure 1. Map of the Maltese islands showing the main places mentioned in the text. The islands’ location in the centre of the Mediterranean is shown inset.
Preface
Chapter 1: The Romanisation of the Maltese islands
Chapter 2: The Vallii in Gozo
Chapter 3: Quintus Lutatius Longinus and his wife Iunia
Chapter 4: Reading CIL, X, 7506. A case of elite friendships?
Chapter 5: Publicia Irene and her daughter Publicia Glycera: their social status, religious identity and perceptions of afterlife
Chapter 6: Iulia Domna and her maternal ideology in the perception of the Gozitan municipes
Chapter 7: Religion in the exercise of power: the religious and political context of a priestly dedication to Iulia Augusta
Chapter 8: Sponsoring a temple to Apollo
Chapter 9: The initiative of the islands’ procurator to preserve the temple of Proserpina
Chapter 10: The Gozo municipium in late Roman times
General Index