Isabelle Vella Gregory
@ivg
Archaeologist. Sudan. Malta. UCL. Cambridge.
The #bees are having a whale of a time on my #passionflower #gardening 🐝🌸🪴
“She keeps finding me. What a brilliant archaeologist she is. So clever. So close to becoming a ☠️ herself.”
Loving the #butterflies on my scabiosa (pincushion flower). First pick is a peacock the other two are a gatekeeper. #butterflies #gardening 🪴🦋
Calling investigators. Reports have reached me that someone has stuck his face in lickelix. Please help me identify the unfortunate cat 🤣
#Delphiniums fresh from the garden - said to have sprouted from the blood of Ajax (though I assure you these are from the garden centre!). Apparently the plant can also repel scorpions and was used to dress wounds etc. Please never try this. All parts are toxic - maybe we can blame Ajax. #gardening
So I have a yellow #rose that’s had a mega growth spurt. It needed a trim and I get to enjoy some flowers for a few days. Win. #gardening
There’s also a bookshop selling a wonderfully curated selection of books. Obvs I did a bit of shopping.
Sarkissian makes absence visible in the most poignant & emotional of ways. He gets it. #Archaeology isn’t just things or the past. It’s abt humanity, past, present & future. It’s not just a loss of heritage - we lose our humanity too. That’s what erasure does and it’s happening in many places. 🇸🇾🇸🇩🇵🇸🇱🇧🏺
The room is dark and it’s like looking at rows of tombstones. Each column has a lithophane with a now lost piece of heritage.
Today was spent clambering around early Christian catacombs while enjoying a very splendid vista. Very windy day but perfect for a spot of gentle archaeology.
The name Xutu refers to the name of two boulders below the island of Fifla (from Arabic filfil, pepper). The Brits yturned the name to Sciuto as apparently the X is hard to pronounce 🤷🏽♀️X is sh. It features heavily in our language.
I just love the details. In the present I appreciate the golden light. Not sure how I’d have felt as a watchman! Each tower was manned by two guards and a watchman.
Inside you can see the fine corbelled architecture. And the death stairs to visit up top. During the colonial period it served various purposes and until 2002 it was a police station!
The towers were military installations mostly against Ottoman fleets. During the day they used a system of smoke and signals. At night they used fire and petards.
This one is known as Ta’ Xutu and was a prototype for the 13 other towers. Somewhere to the left and right are two of the other towers (visible when you’re up at the top)
Between the 15th and 17th centuries the Grandmasters of the Order of St John built a series of coastal watch towers. The aim was to have at least three towers visible to each other. This one was built in 1637 by Grandmaster Lascaris.
Wandering around my favourite landscape. Best way to clear the mind and renew the soul. Alas still too cold for a swim!