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5000-year old tombs from the New Stone Age period discovered on Gozo Island
Added: (Sun Oct 18 2009)
A fascinating Prehistoric discovery has just been announced in Malta.
Two 5000-year old tombs were recently discovered at Kercem, on Gozo island (Malta’s sister island).
The tombs from the New Stone Age period were unearthed when some extension works were being carried out at the Parish Priest’s house which is close to the Parish Church in Kercem. Archaelogists have found pottery fragments on the site that are believed to date from 3000-2500 BCE.
What’s even more fascinating is the fact that these tombs have laid there undisturbed for almost 5000 years! It is possible that when the parish church was constructed between 1861 and 1851 the tombs did not draw any attention and so remained untouched for another 163 years.
One of the chambers also contained fully articulated skeletons. Marica Zammit, founder of Maltabulb.com - a travel guide on the Maltese islands that gives genuine no hype travel advice, said that “This is a thrilling discovery for the Maltese islands and for the world! Perhaps with this new discovery, the world will have a much greater insight on how the Prehistoric man lived. Only time will tell whether we will have a better understanding of the New Stone Age Period and the enigmatic Prehistoric people.”
Researchers will now focus on pathology, carbon-dating and if possible the DNA of the human remains.
Ms Zammit of Maltabulb.com added that “this is probably a unique event in Mediterranean archaeology”. A small museum featuring this priceless discovery is planned. The museum will have display cases and an audiovisual presentation.