Malta’s connections and cultural identity: Remarks on the architectural language in the western Mediterranean in the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE

The article discusses the architectural language attested in the late 4th and early 3rd century BCE in Malta, in the Tas-Silġ sanctuary. It is a composite idiom that shows affinity with the decorative motifs found elsewhere in the Punic Mediterranean but also exhibits striking originality. This period – characterised by great cultural vivacity and exchange – is variously defined by writers as Late Punic, Punic or Punic-Hellenistic, which underlines the uncertainty underlying our interpretation of the Punic Mediterranean in the Hellenistic period. This is linked to the question of the alleged “Hellenisation” of the Punic world, manifested in architecture through the adoption of decorative motifs of Greek tradition. The Tas-Silġ remains are considered in the light of these more general problems and evaluated in relation to the specific local context. On the one hand, it was fully integrated into the circulation of goods, people and ideas in the western Mediterranean. On the other hand, the locality possessed a distinctive cultural identity, evident in the continued use of Late Neolithic structures and the employment of “mixed” architecture that stands out for its originality and stylistic quality compared to other traditions known from the Carthaginian eparchy.