A preliminary assessment of the potential production activity in Arab period Malta (870-1091/1127 AD)

Contenu

Titre

A preliminary assessment of the potential production activity in Arab period Malta (870-1091/1127 AD)

Créateur

Micallef, Joshua

Sujet

Archéologie -- Malte

Résumé

The scope of this study is to provide a preliminary analysis of the potential production activity undertaken in Malta during the Arab period. The study aims to collate and analyse the available evidence for the period, such as archaeological, historical, geological, and environmental data, and provide an informed picture of the production activity, including such topics as land-use potential and strategies, economic production, and possible practices of adaptive risk management. The research emphasises the importance of the landscape and environmental context, with Geographic Information System (GIS) tools employed to map and analyse site-level agricultural potential, hydrological resources, and proximity to productive landscapes. Thanks to pottery finds, sites of activity or occupation were identified. These sites include one urban site, two coastal sites, and three rural sites. All sites have access to agriculturally suitable land, but to varying degrees, with the sites in the west and north of the island having the greatest potential within a 1 km radius. All sites are also in the vicinity of hydrological resources. While small-scale irrigation or rainwater harvesting methods may have been used, the absence of large-scale irrigation infrastructure suggests limited necessity for such costly undertakings, possibly due to the population size and varied microenvironments that allowed for diverse food production throughout the year. Animal husbandry and apiculture were also practicable, especially since the island has substantial waste ground, such as karstic land with limited agricultural potential but ideal for grazing. Thus, the production of varied foodstuffs would likely not have impinged on each other. Pottery production has also been identified. The nature of the sedimentary geology of the island, which results in calcium carbonate-rich clay, has been identified as one of the issues that would have impacted pottery production. So too is the availability of fuel, seeing the generally degraded steppe environment and limited tree cover present during the period. What also emerges from the study is a picture of an island that is not an uninhabited or forgotten backwater. However, it seems that the Aghlabid overlordship of the island in the ninth century could have resulted in general neglect of the island’s potential, which is reversed starting in the early tenth century under the Fatimids. The study also highlights the clear and evident need for additional research, especially of a scientific nature, and publication of the archaeology of Arab period Malta. Such efforts would be a boon to our understanding of this often-overlooked period of the history of the Maltese Islands and help further elucidate agricultural practices, trade dynamics, and adaptive strategies during the Arab period in Malta.

Type

Master Thesis

Editeur

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn

Couverture spatiale

Bonn

Date

2025

nombre de pages

195

Langue

eng

Source

www.academia.edu