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From the Din l-Art Ħelwa Archives - George Camilleri
from Vigilo 55
by dinlarthelwa
Vigilo - Din l-Art Ħelwa Issue 55 • MAY 2021 59 From the DiN l-arT ĦelwA ARCHIVES
by george e. camilleri
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Members attending lectures at the Din l-Art Ħelwa headquarters in Melita Street will have noticed the display areas on the landing. Among the various artefacts are a number of archaeological specimens of varying nature ranging from extinct animal teeth to Roman items. Delving into the archives one finds interesting information of the provenance of some of them.
In July 1998, Mrs Selina Ballance of Gloucestershire presented a number of artefacts to Din L-Art Ħelwa, via Andy Welsh, together with the following note:
“The enclosed objects have been in my possession since 1936. In that year the top of a hill in an area known as Takali was sliced off as part of the levelling work necessary for the construction of an aerodrome. I assume it was for military aircraft at that time as my father, Air Commodore Paul Maltby, Air Officer Commanding the RAF in the Mediterranean, took a great interest in it, and when prehistoric material turned up he took me along to see it. Whoever was in charge gave me these bones. The labels on them are those I, aged eleven, wrote at the time: I therefore do not vouch for their accuracy. It seems right they should be returned to Malta, and I shall be very glad if they are of any interest or use in a museum or other collection”.
Martin Galea, then secretary general replied in February 1999 stating that, “Further to your handing over the archaeological remains you found before the war, we had an expert look them over,” adding “We have now applied to the Museums Department to have the remains exhibited here at our headquarters”. These had been examined by Dr George Zammit Maempel, curator at the Għar Dalam museum who identified dental elements of extinct animals dating back to the Tertiary Period, 13 to 18 million years ago and hippopotami and pygmy elephants of the Pleistocene period over 130,000 years ago together with molluscs and other shells.
The museum authorities granted the requested permission and these interesting specimens, thanks to Mrs Selina Ballance, now grace our headquarters. n
george camilleri is a retired dental surgeon and former dean of the faculty of Dental surgery at the University of malta. he is now researching the history of dentistry in malta and is a volunteer archivist at Din l-Art Ħelwa.
