The Malta University Historical Society (MUHS) has said that it is delighted to announce the 2015 Andrew Vella Memorial Lecture and MUHS Annual Dinner.

This year's speaker will be Dr Keith Buhagiar and the lecture title is: 'Maltese Rural Landscape Development: Making a Case for the High and Late Medieval Period.'

During this lecture, Dr Keith Buhagiar will discuss the roots of Maltese High Medieval cave-dwelling probably lie in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and are the result of new attitudes adopted following the Norman conquest of AD 1127.

A strong cave-dwelling tradition during this period appears to reflect a coordinated effort at increasing the hydrological and agricultural output of specifically designated countryside areas in north and northwest Malta. Considering the geographic proximity of Malta to south- east Sicily, it is probable that most influences filtered into Malta through direct contact with the neighbouring Sicilian Island.

This lecture seeks to investigate Maltese rural landscape development as well as the closely-knit clusters of rock-cut dwellings and their adjoining cave churches.

The majority of the identified springs originate from a series of man-excavated perched aquifer galleries, a number of which subscribe to qanat-type water extraction systems.

Keith Buhagiar is a Ph.D. graduate in archaeology from the University of Malta specialising in hydrology, medieval and Early Modern Maltese cave-settlements and their related water management systems, as well as rural landscape development.

Dr Buhagiar is a visiting lecturer in palaeochristian and medieval archaeology at the Department of Classics and Archaeology at the University of Malta. Research interests include central Mediterranean, North African and Near Eastern water management systems, cave-dwelling and Mediterranean settlement location and distribution.

The lecture and dinner will be taking place on Friday, the 4th of December 2015, starting at 6:30pm (patrons are asked to be seated by 6:15pm) at Bottegin Palazzo Xara (L'Isle Adam Band Club), Rabat, Malta

The price for lecture and dinner is €25 per person.

Kindly book by sending an email on muhs1963@gmail.com not later than the 27th of November 2015.

Payment is to be made by cheque to 'The Malta University Historical Society' and sent to Malta University Historical Society, c/o Dr Emanuel Buttigieg, Room 219, Faculty of Arts, University of Malta, Msida by not later than 1 December 2015.

Further details can be found on the Facebook page of the Malta University Historical Society.

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