Tas-Silg Exhibition Announced November 11 in Valletta, Malta: Artefacts From More Than 4,000 Years Shown Together for the First Time, Through May 31, 2027
VALLETTA, Malta — Heritage Malta announced on November 11 a new exhibition at the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta, Tas-Silġ: A Place of Encounters and Worship for Millennia, running until May 31, 2027, with admission included in the museum ticket.
According to the release, Tas-Silġ is the archaeological site with the longest continuous use in Malta, and for the first time a selection of artefacts from the site's numerous excavations are brought together in one display, guiding visitors through over 4,000 years of human activity recorded on site. The exhibition was developed through close collaboration between Heritage Malta, the University of Malta, the Italian Archaeological Mission in Malta and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, and forms part of the 11th International Congress of Phoenician and Punic Studies being held in Valletta.
Situated on a hill overlooking Marsaxlokk Bay, Tas-Silġ began as a Late Neolithic megalithic complex, remained in use through the Bronze and Iron Ages, became an important Phoenician-Punic and Roman religious centre, was later transformed into a Byzantine church complex complete with a baptismal font, and was eventually turned into an agricultural estate. Highlights include a cuneiform-inscribed agate lunar crescent from Nippur in Mesopotamia, dating to the 13th to early 12th century BC; a 6th-century BC life-sized ivory ear, possibly from the cult statue of Astarte, the sanctuary's central deity; and newly created 3D digital reconstructions of the site. The museum opens daily from 09:00 to 17:00 until January 3, 2027, the exhibition space is fully accessible, and an accompanying catalogue is on sale at the museum and online.
Source: Heritage Malta
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：图中是瓦莱塔国家考古博物馆入口处的博物馆铭牌，本展即在该馆举行。照片：Frank Vincentz 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。
