After more than 50 years of research and impressive discoveries, Joseph Attard Tabone’s work was finally acknowledged when he was awarded the Midalja ghall-Qadi tar-Repubblika last Thursday. He speaks to Karl Schembri
Joseph Attard Tabone’s teens were full of adventures in the fields of Xaghra, Gozo, in the area surrounding the Ggantija temples. Little did he know that the wall where he used to hide his home-made gun between two huge stones was the only standing megalithic remains of the Gozo Stone Circle.
Today, at the age of 65, his fantastic article of the discovery of the stone circle reads like an intricate detective story, with hidden clues scattered here and there.
“In 1959 I reported this megalithic wall to Dr David Trump, then Curator of Archaeology,” Mr Attard Tabone said. “We inspected the site together and he included it in the 1959/60 Museum Report but we did not realise then, that under our feet lay a great wealth of archaeological material and that this wall was part of the Gozo Stone Circle. The secrets of the site were still hidden in libraries, archives and underground.”
It was from the archives that Mr Attard Tabone found his vital clue: The French artist and writer Jean Houel had described a site in his Voyage Pittoresque des Isles de Sicile, de Malte et de Lipari, published in 1787. In it he mentions an “antique circular edifice situated near the Giants’ Tower”. A painting of Houel’s also showed a stone circle with megaliths.
“I took this as a challenge,” said Mr Attard Tabone, “knowing well from the previous discovery that this was not just Houel’s fantasy. It took me five years of research until I was sure that I had discovered the actual site. I have never excavated. My discoveries were always based on my observations, surface finds, pottery shards thrown in rubble walls ... these give you an indication of the potential of the site. I always say that rubble walls are our archaeological archives. In the past, farmers who found prehistoric pottery shards used to put them in the rubble walls and then collect them to crush them to use them as deffun (powdered shards) on their roofs.
In 1965 Mr Attard Tabone announced that he had managed to locate the exact site of the Gozo Stone Circle, also known as the Brockdorff Circle, the location of which had remained unknown for hundreds of years.
It was a site of funerary rituals. Even before the temples were built, in the Zebbug period in 4000 BC, it was used as a burial site.
“Unfortunately we are still awaiting the publication of the report of the Stone Circle excavations,” Mr Attard Tabone said. “The excavations stopped in 1994 and the authorities were supposed to write a final report about the artefacts and the findings. Instead, those few who were involved in the excavations are publishing reports in their name and becoming famous, while we, the Maltese people, still know nothing about the site.”
When it comes to conserving Mr Attard Tabone’s archaeological discoveries, the State has often neglected them and allowed important traces of our history to be swept away by incompetence and inaction.
“There were cases when I reported my findings to the authorities and road construction works went ahead. It could be because they were under political pressure or because of ignorance. But I recall the authorities destroying sites which could provide us with key information in archaeology.”
As an example he mentions a very important cave between Ggantija and the Stone Circle, called l-Ghar ta’ Ghejzu, which has not yet been studied.
“This is a megalithic site, a temple, with a cave in front of it that was discovered by Sir Temi Zammit in 1934 – most probably his last discovery. In it he found large quantities of pottery of the Ggantija period, dating back to 3500 BC. There were even apses on the site but they were bulldozed to build a road there. I had lodged a report to the authorities, informing them of the destruction, and they stopped it. However, the area where all the refuse of the temple used to be dumped, such as broken pottery, known as the cultural deposit, was completely bulldozed and so we have nothing left.
“Now they just planted palm trees in the protected area. This is unheard of. You don’t plant trees, especially imported ones, in a megalithic site. Palm trees are ruining the panoramic view of Ggantija. This is something the authorities just cannot understand – the landscape is an essential part of our temples. Someone also planted eucalyptus trees. I call the eucalyptus tree as the hiding tree. Wherever there are eucalyptus you find illegal constructions, refuse, trappers’ mist nets, junk cars ... in fact the Ggantija area is being turned into something that has nothing to do with its prehistoric character. It is also a political tree because hunters and trappers use it to attract birds, and politicians do not want to lose hunters’ votes.”
His latest find is that of a burial chamber, on the very site he discovered 50 years ago.
“I still go around the Stone Circle for walks. Last year someone set a field on fire and so, when I went for a walk a few months ago, I could see what was hidden for ages under the carob trees. I found an opening in the rock, and thought ‘this escaped me after 50 years exploring the site!’ So I went under the carob tree and found this tomb. It had its northern half mutilated when one of the quarries was dug nearby, but its entrance and upper half are still intact. I am sure there were skeletons and furniture inside but these must have been destroyed when the quarry was dug.”
Apart from uncovering history, Mr Attard Tabone also wrote history himself. It was through his intervention that the Gozo Stone Circle and Ggantija were saved from sure destruction. When in the 1970s a road was opened next to Ggantija, heavy vehicles started passing from there, doing a lot of damage because of their vibrations. He took the former Curator of Archaeology, Tancred Gouder, on site, and eventually bollards were placed to close access to cars.
“Mr Gouder also placed wooden planks for visitors so they would not trample on the megaliths, but they kept letting off fire works from near the temples and I kept protesting about it,” Mr Attard Tabone said.
He had also taken Mr Gouder on a prehistoric burial site close to the Tal-Qortin rubbish dump.
“When the authorities wanted to compile a report about the Tal-Qortin dump, Mr Gouder had forgotten where the prehistoric graves were. He had taken no note of them, so I refused to tell them because I had already done my duty of informing the authorities. The site is still not excavated yet. The rubbish dump is only a few yards away and it risks burying the site. If that happens we will lose that site and the rubbish will end up in the sea, ruining the Bay of Ghajn Barrani.
“The situation is deteriorating. Fifty years ago we did not have all these cars, all these projects, roads built in the countryside. Today in five minutes you can raze Ggantija to the ground. Developers digging quarries do not care at all. If you look at the museum records of Sir Temi Zammit’s time, you would find so many discoveries reported. Today you might find one discovery reported in a whole year. They just bulldoze and destroy whatever they find. So the protection of these sites must be stepped up. We need wardens roving around these sites protecting our national heritage.”
Ironically it was the Xaghra local council itself, the authority which proposed to build a sports complex opposite the Ggantija temples.
“Yes, unfortunately they wanted to please the locals and build a sports complex, to imitate the other football clubs. But building a sports complex over there would have brought destruction, pollution, noise... you name it. It would have ruined the landscape.”
Mr Attard Tabone also discovered St Paul’s Catacomb, a Bronze Age silo pit in Nuffara Hill, also in Gozo, a temple period hut in Ghajnsielem and a series of Xemxija-type tombs on the cliffs between Marsalforn and Ramla.
“Unfortunately in Gozo we do not have a proper museum to show and conserve artefacts. The value of most of the findings is enormous. They are unique in the archaeology of the Mediterranean. To keep them in good shape you would need a museum with static air conditioning. The museum in Cittadella is a very old house. It is humid, and the prehistoric pottery stored on the ground floor has turned black, their red designs are vanishing, and we can’t keep things like that as if nothing is happening.”
Being awarded the Midalja ghall-Qadi tar-Repubblika means a lot to Mr Attard Tabone.
“When someone gives a contribution to his country and the country does not acknowledge it, it wouldn’t give a good example to the citizens. I am very happy that finally my work in the archaeological field has been finally recognised by the State. When I was with the police I was fortunate to get to know Guzeppi Zahra. We used to work at the Qormi police station. He was infatuated with archaeology. He knew about every hole in Malta and Gozo, and I used to go around with him on these sites. Later I met David Trump, then curator of archaeology, and Captain Charles Zammit, then Director of Museums and the son of Sir Temi Zammit. I owe him a lot. He was one of the most helpful people in archaeology. Nowadays people in authority just close doors for you.”
