Although Gozo is part of the Maltese archipelago, its history is uniquely entrenched in the doings of its inhabitants. Every era, from prehistory to the temple period, the phoenicians and the punic occupation up to medieval times have left remains and treasures with stories to recount. Welcome to Gozo's archaeology.
Bronze Age sherdGozo Museum of Archaeology
The museum’s display illustrates the rich material culture of Gozo and relies on themes like burial, religion, art, food and daily life, making use of related material from various archaeological sites in Gozo.
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The Building
The Museum is located immediately behind the original gateway to the Citadel
Casa BondiGozo Museum of Archaeology
It is housed in a two-storey 17th century townhouse which was once the residence of the Bondì family.
Balcony of Casa Bondi - detailGozo Museum of Archaeology
It initially served as a town hall where the Knights of St John used to entertain their distinguished guests.
Inauguration Plaque of Gozo Museum of ArchaeologyGozo Museum of Archaeology
The building came to house the archaeological collection in 1986 as part of a re organisation programme of the Gozo museum collection into separate collections housed in separate buildings in the Citadel.
The Collection
The modest collection inside the Gozo Archaeology museum gives a unique insight of the societies that inhabited this island. Particular conditions conditioned the way of life of these residents creating traditions specific to the environment. Each artefact has a story to recount and such stories are still there to be retold and rediscovered.
TBILGozo Museum of Archaeology
The ground floor of the museum is devoted to the Neolithic Period, the Temple Period, and the Bronze Age (5200–700BC) and introduces the first settlers, their daily life in contact with nature.
It also displays the extent to which this prehistoric society employed its skills and available techniques in the exploitation of the natural resources.
Twin juglets from Victoria, GozoGozo Museum of Archaeology
Although the first inhabitants of the island left no writing behind them, the discovery of an artistic patrimony in the form of temples and decorative material denotes the level of sophistication of such a community.
TBILGozo Museum of Archaeology
Their skills and techniques were resorted to in the manufacture of ornamental items, employing both local and imported raw materials.
Romulus and Remus StatuetteGozo Museum of Archaeology
The Classical Period consists of Phoenician, Punic, and Roman artefacts found in several sites in Gozo and Comino.
Amphoras retrieved from ship wreckGozo Museum of Archaeology
The Phoenicians attracted by the local harbours, established a colony in Malta and Gozo. Around 500Bc, the Phoenicians of carthage took over and the carthaginians, as they are better known, remained masters of the islands until 218Bc.
There are remains of a Punic rock-cut sanctuary at Ras iL-Wardija, on the outskirts of Santa Lucija village, on the south-western tip of Gozo.
Punic coinGozo Museum of Archaeology
Around the year 257 BCE, Malta suffered devastation at the hands of the Romans. During the Second Punic War, Malta was captured by the Romans who imposed their language and religion on the Maltese.
Late Medieval PotteryGozo Museum of Archaeology
Its new capital Constantinople - previously known as Byzantium - where it came to be known as the eastern Roman or Byzantine empire.
The decline of the Roman empire in the West was countermarked by the empire's shift to the East.
Late Medieval ReliefGozo Museum of Archaeology
This change affected the entire Mediterranean including the Maltese islands. The islands remained in Byzantine possession until 870AD when they were taken over by the Sicilian Arabs
Majmuna StoneGozo Museum of Archaeology
Throughout the period of Arab innovations, particularly in the sphere of agriculture, as well as the first-time cultivation of cotton and citrus trees.
Conquered by the Normans in 1091, the Arabs were nonetheless allowed to stay on the islands until finally, they were expelled by Frederick II and gathered in Lucera.
Not much had changed, particularly in Gozo, and it was quite some time after the devastating incursion of the Turks in 1551, when the island was nearly totally depopulated, that Gozo started to be given due attention.
An inscription of Bernardo de OpuoGozo Museum of Archaeology
In 1551, Gozo had been long suffering from frequent incursions badly affecting the already impoverished population. Bernardo de Opuo's ordeal revealed the fragile state of the island's defenses and as a consequence its poor social fabric.
Following such a negative experience the island started to be given due attention leading to a gradual improvement in the economic and social conditions of its newly-planted population.
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