The second Arabic inscription to be uncovered outside of Rabat, the discovery is 'very significant and unusual,' according to the Superintendent for Cultural Heritage.
During construction on a communal housing project in Fgura near the Buleben industrial zone, a stone slab with a medieval Arabic inscription was discovered.
The discovery, which sheds light on a largely unexplored time of Maltese history when a sizable portion of the population was Muslim, is being hailed as a landmark finding.
The Arabic inscription was found in a naturally carved well in fields fronting Triq id-Dejma, Triq il-Karmnu and Triq tax-Xemx u l-Qamar, where the Planning Authority recently approved a social housing project
In areas near Triq id-Dejma, Triq il-Karmnu, and Triq tax-Xemx u l-Qamar, where the Planning Authority recently approved a communal housing project, the Arabic inscription was discovered in a naturally carved well.
The stone slab was discovered beside ceramics that predates the 13th century. Numerous silo pits and agricultural trenches were also found at the site as a result of the archaeological assessment.
The historical artifact was described by a representative of the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage as "a limestone prismatic stele, truncated at each end, bearing Arabic script."
The writing is most likely in the Kufic alphabet, which was employed by early Muslims to record the Qur'an. This angular, slow-moving font was frequently used on gravestones, coins, and building inscriptions.
The calligraphic design discovered in Fgura needs to be verified, nevertheless. Other markings on the slab "may represent symbols rather than writing" are also visible.
When Sir Temi Zammit began excavating the Roman Domus outside of Mdina in the early 20th century, he found an Arab cemetery that had been constructed on top of the Domus' ruins. This artifact is typologically quite similar to a number of stelae that were also found there.
This is the only other copy known to have been discovered outside of Rabat, with the exception of another one discovered at Savina Square in Victoria in 1901, "making this discovery very significant and rare, both archaeologically as well as historically," according to the SCH.
An Arabic language specialist from the University of Malta is working with the Superintendence to help decode the inscription, which is thought to be crucial for establishing the object's original usage and providing precise dating.
The inscription was discovered inside an approximately 8.5-meter-deep vertical natural fissure that had been partially constructed into a well.
According to the SCH's investigations, the inscription and other items discovered in the well may have been "dumped there" at a later time. It is a sign that the inscription was discovered somewhere other than its original location. However, despite the absence of modern materials, the site is still regarded as offering a reliable archaeological context.
Additionally, pottery from the same site, which dates to no later than the 13th century AD, places the location to the Medieval era.
Plans for the development's basement and ground floor levels were altered as a result of the big archaeological discovery so that the more noteworthy features will be preserved and made always visible. The communal housing project includes a reservoir, a basement with 66 garages on two levels, and 117 above-ground housing units arranged over five levels.
All artifacts have been located and are being kept in the repository and laboratory of the Superintendence for the required conservation and examination.
The Superintendence has also recently made reference to the archaeological potential of an adjacent 23,468 square meter property that is just 108 meters away and planned for residential construction by developer Anton Camilleri. The SCH states that any development on this property that is allowed should be subject to "archaeological monitoring."
Reminiscences of Muslim Malta
Despite the fact that Malta was under Arab rule from 870 AD until the Norman conquest in 1091, a sizeable portion of the population continued to be Muslim and coexisted alongside Jewish and Christian communities. The Norman era is when the majority of the archaeological evidence for a Muslim presence in Malta, including the Muslim cemetery in Rabat, was discovered. The Maimuna stone, which is currently on display at the Gozo Archaeology Museum, is likewise from 1174.
The memorial prayer on the stone is written in Kufic script and is addressed to a young Muslim woman by the name of Maimnah. Verse from the Qur'an that discuss death are also included. However, the precise location of the stone's discovery is unknown, despite the fact that it is widely believed to have been between the Gozitan villages of Xewkija and Sannat in a region known as Ta' Majmuna.
Giliberto Abate recorded 836 Muslim homes, 250 Christian households, and 33 Jewish households in Malta and Gozo in his report from 1240.
Only 47 Christian houses in Malta and 203 in Gozo are mentioned in the record. The figures demonstrate the persistence of a sizable Muslim community even as late as 1240, even though it's likely that they only apply to a section of the island's population or that a 'M' standing for a 'thousand' was accidentally dropped in front of Malta's Christian population.
Ibn Haldun claims that in 1249, Emperor Frederick II banished the Muslims of Malta along with the Muslims of Sicily, who are known to have been exiled to Lucera in Sicily based on other evidence. But it's likely that accepting formal baptism was all the Muslims needed to do to avoid expulsion.
The late Godfrey Wettinger claimed that this accounted for the Maltese language's survival "largely in the form it had taken during the centuries of Muslim hegemony" despite the continuous influx of settlers from Europe, notably churchmen and merchants, into the islands. Words associated with Muslim religious practices have survived as a result of this. For instance, Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of sacrifice and fasting, is whence the Maltese word Randan (Lent) originates. Similar to how Easter has its roots in the jubilant Islamic feast of Eid al-Fitr, which celebrates the conclusion of Ramadan.
Additionally, Friday is known as "Il-imga" in Maltese since it is the day when Muslims on the island used to gather for their weekly congregational prayers, or "Jumu'ah." Additionally, the Maltese refer to their God as Alla, which is derived from Allah, just like Muslim and Christian Arabs do.
