On 30 March 1988 it was noticed that an ancient graffito had been stolen from the Punic sanctuary of Ras il- Wardija, Gozo, where it was discovered carved on a wall. This loss was reported to the Police and rapidly made news across the Maltese islands.

The disappearance of this carving was a loss not only for Gozo but also for the world, and especially for scholars of Phoenician-Punic archaeology.

After more than twenty years the graffito was handed over to Maltese authorities. The owner of the land from where the sculpture had been stolen renounced all rights over carving in favour of Government.

The return of the Ras il-Wardija graffito is an important development. Every loss of a cultural resource is a big loss for Maltese culture in particular. The cultural resources of Gozo and Malta are very limited, and require more protection on every level of policy, conservation as well as those protective measures undertaken by the authorities together with the Police Department.

There remains the fact however, that unique non-renewable resources, such as cultural heritage resources, belong to the public and serve mainly to give additional value to our lives. Without culture, built in part on the foundations of objects, monuments, works of art and others, a nation is poor and without roots.

The carving from Ras il-Wardija now forms part of the national collection of cultural heritage and will be on permanent display at the Gozo Museum of Archaeology.

Ras il-Wardija, located in the West South-West of Ghawdex, is one of the most spectacular locations in the Maltese islands. The strategic location of the site was used for thousands of years.

Cart ruts carved in the rock in the vicinity suggest that the site’s environs were used during the Bronze Age, after 1500BC, if not earlier. In Punic times the scenic beauty of the site served as a background for a sanctuary, perhaps a nympheum. The isolated location, highly visible from the sea and from other coastal locations in Gozo and Malta, may have also served as a landmark for mariners sailing the sea between the Maltese islands and North Africa.

A number of cruciform carvings on the sanctuary’s walls suggest that the use of the site changed after the arrival of Christianity in the Maltese islands.

The toponym ‘wardija’ means a look-out post, a station or a post for guards, especially along the coast.

Even during World War II, the area was used for the defence of the islands.

The archaeological site of Ras il-Wardija was excavated by the Missione Archeologica Italiana a Malta, between 1964 – 1967.The Punic and Roman Sanctuary at Ras il-Wardija

The ancient sanctuary at Ras il-Wardija was excavated by the Missione Archeologica Italiana a Malta in the years 1964 to 1967. The results of the excavations were published in the Annual Reports of the Missione.

The excavation established that Ras il-Wardija was once a religious complex dating to the Punic and Early Roman periods – roughly between the IV and III Centuries BC.

The sanctuary consisted of a number of structures, built of different architectural elements set against the spectacular landscape of the Ras il-Wardija headland. It is not known what dieties may have been venerated at this site in antiquity.

The main structural elements of this religious complex are the following:

A Rectangular Chamber – This was cut into a globigerina limestone ridge, facing West South West. The walls of the chamber were decorated with niches set within moulded frames.

The graffito displayed in this exhibition was originally found incised in the internal walls of this chamber.

The External Corridor – This structure was cut in the rock, in the form of a T. The longest part of the corridor is outside the chamber, parallel to its facade. The shortest part of the corridor leads into the chamber. Outside the chamber, along the side of the sunken passage corridor, are rock-cut benches. Some scholars have suggested that these benches may have been used for ritual banquets.

Water reservoir and bell-shaped well – Being remote, the sanctuary was served by a water reservoir and a small bell-shaped well. These features were cut in the rock within the sacred complex. Besides their mundane purpose of storing water, these features may have also been linked to rituals.

The External Structure or Altar – A rectangular building was also constructed in antiquity at some distance from the main Chamber, in the direction of the outermost limit of the Ra il-Wardija headland. This structure was built of large ashlar blocks, and is similar to the open-air altars of the same period documented at the Sanctuary of Tas-Silg in Marsaxlokk.

The GraffitoA number of graffiti were noted on the walls of the rock-cut chamber of the sanctuary of Ras il-Wardija.

The sculpture on exhibition, was originally located in one of the niches of the chamber.

The image consists of a human-like figure, standing upright with arms outstretched in a cross-like pose. A verticle groove extends from the head of the figure upwards.

The figure was crudely etched-out by chiselling. The rock surface surrounding the figure was removed, leaving the main motif standing out in low relief.

Some damage to the figure was caused when it was illegally removed from Ras il-Wardija. The upper limit of the figure, a vertical groove, was destroyed. The main body of the cruciform survived, showing the skill with which the looters cut the figure from the live rock.

The meaning and the dating of this figure are unknown. It has been suggested that this figure represents the Punic ‘Sign of Tanit’. However the cruciform figure from Ras il-Wardija bears no resemblance to this Punic religious symbol.

It is also possible that this cruciform carving dates to the Middle Ages and may in fact represent a Christian cross.

The carving on display at this exhibition is not the only one to have been noted at Ras il-Wardija.

Some of the other graffiti have similar human-like appearances. Others are more abstract or geometric. There are also a number of traces of vertical lines, perhaps the remains of graffiti of the Christian Cross.

Permalink: Ras il-Wardija in Gozo – The return of the lost graffito