Thelma Beth Minney: Identity Negotiations: Religious Identity Shifts for Phoenicians in the Punic Roman World

Background

Phoenicians have long been familiar, but elusive in our understanding of Mediterranean networks in the Ancient World. While previously known for their trade networks across the sea, scholars have recently begun untangling what additional elements of Phoenician identity might be within the globalized systems of the Mediterranean. Now these identities must be reintegrated with the rich histories of the different locations where the Phoenicians settled and the cultural effects of imperial spread under the Roman Empire. Using religion as an entry point into broader discussions of identity, I look to see how these factors influence religious material culture for the Phoenicians in the Western Mediterranean. Specifically, my work investigates the archaeological remains of temples, religious inscriptions, and votive objects to ask how religious practices and productions shift for Western Phoenician and Punic peoples following their absorption into the Roman Empire in the 3rd Century BCE. I focus in particular on island identities through case studies from Sardinia, Sicily and Malta.

Thanks to the support from The Europe Center, I was able to extend my summer research travel to visit Malta and Gozo for three weeks. My time in the country was split fairly evenly between archaeological site visits and museum collections, alongside a few engagements with scholars who work directly with the ongoing excavations and material preservation in the region. From these experiences, I was able to better evaluate the landscape around the placement of Phoenician settlements on the islands, collect data on what elements from prior occupation had been reused in Phoenician and in Roman periods, and evaluate the material culture remains that have been preserved.

Minney Figure 1 — This image shows a view of Ras Il Wardija, a headland with Phoenician temple remains. While not much is left on the headland itself, the sacred value of the site was derived from its visibility from the water. The bay below is deadly, full of hidden rocks, so when approaching, sailors would see the headland and be vigilant. Offerings at the headland could be made for safe arrival but also to request a safe departure.

While I was able to research and record many sites during my trip, I want to highlight the Tas-Silġ complex. Tas-Silġ, a large temple ruin on the south coast of Malta, stood out for how layered its usage was through the ages. The lowest levels of the site feature the remains of a megalithic temple, built prior to 3000 B.C.E. This temple was constructed of massive limestone blocks, which other temples in the region show can weigh up to 20 tons, and feature apsidal rooms, the lower walls of which were made visible by Italian excavations from the 1960’s. Yet more modern excavations on other areas of the temple have revealed Phoenician and Roman construction layers that reuse the limestone material from the megalithic temple and preserve sections of the original floor plan, making use of the prior architecture to lighten the construction load for the structural updates. Votive material from the temple and the surrounding area show that it was a center of worship for the Phoenician goddess Astarte before being converted to the worship of Juno during the Roman occupation, drawing a linkage between the two goddesses but updating the structure of the temple to match the new religious requirements.

Minney Figure 2 — The Tarxien temples were established as a megalithic complex before 3000BCE and sections of them were reused in Phoenician times. This Altar niche saw considerable reuse, but the pattern design on the block below dates back to the original founding of the temple.

There is much work to be done at Tas-Silġ on untangling which updates were made under the Phoenician period and which were done under Roman control of the region. My trip to Malta has enabled me to make these sorts of interventions. I plan to continue working on this site and others to trace how Phoenician temple worship and usage in the Western Mediterranean was affected by past practices in the region and updated as social power shifted. The data collected here will contribute substantially to my dissertation and I am grateful to The Europe Center for enabling my research travel.