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Malta Business Review<br />

FRAGSUS PROJECT<br />

EXPLORING THE PAST<br />

TO BUILD OUR FUTURE:<br />

Minister Bonnici addresses conference and inaugurates exhibition on the FRAGSUS project<br />

Photo: DOI- Jason Borg<br />

Minister for Justice, Culture<br />

and Local Government<br />

Owen Bonnici addressed a<br />

conference in relation to the<br />

FRAGSUS (Fragility and<br />

sustainability in restricted<br />

island environments:<br />

Adaptation, cultural change<br />

and collapse in prehistory)<br />

project. This five-year<br />

research project carried<br />

out by an international<br />

interdisciplinary team<br />

from Malta, Britain and<br />

Ireland led to new exciting<br />

discoveries about early Malta<br />

and its inhabitants.<br />

Photo: DOI- Jason Borg<br />

“We are unearthing new answers and<br />

discovering more about our history, about<br />

our country and about our heritage. Our<br />

history is an imperative source of information<br />

and it is also the foundation which we build<br />

our future upon,” said Minister Bonnici. He<br />

highlighted the importance of collaboration<br />

and described it as “a key element when it<br />

comes to provide a holistic dynamic approach<br />

as well as exposure. These collaborations,<br />

both internationally and locally aid for our<br />

heritage to be more accessible, they’re also<br />

a great way of sharing our rich history and<br />

culture. This Government’s strategy is to<br />

ensure that culture is accessible to everyone,<br />

as we believe in this vast ever- growing sector<br />

which keeps on giving, especially when it<br />

comes to employment.”<br />

A few of the new discoveries mentioned<br />

during the conference were that the first<br />

inhabitants of Malta arrived around 5900BC,<br />

about 700 years earlier than previously<br />

thought and that our islands saw more than<br />

one episode of Neolithic colonisation. The<br />

new dietary studies conducted showed<br />

declining levels of meat consumption as<br />

conditions deteriorated, but inhabitants<br />

resorted to cereals and other vegetables to<br />

sustain themselves. It came as a surprise that<br />

fish where hardly exploited.<br />

Minister Bonnici also referred to the fact this<br />

year is the European Year of Cultural Heritage.<br />

There have already been several firsts related<br />

to our treasured heritage this year, namely<br />

the inclusion of four Great Siege Maps in the<br />

UNESCO Memory of the World Register as<br />

well as looking into the process of nominating<br />

aspects of our national intangible heritage<br />

for the world-renowned UNESCO list for<br />

intangible heritage.<br />

The conference also looked at archaeological<br />

discoveries and particular sites, such as Skorba,<br />

Santa Venera and Taċ-Ċawla to name a few.<br />

Minister Bonnici will also inaugurate an<br />

exhibition pertaining to the results of<br />

this project at the National Museum of<br />

Archaeology, which will be open to the public<br />

free of charge until the 15th of June.<br />

We are unearthing new<br />

answers and discovering<br />

more about our history,<br />

about our country and<br />

about our heritage.<br />

The FRAGSUS project – an investment of<br />

€2.5million – financed by the European<br />

Research Council, brought together experts<br />

from different European universities. The<br />

research has effectively rewritten the first<br />

chapter of Maltese history. Minister for Justice,<br />

Culture and Local Government Owen Bonnici<br />

inaugurated an exhibition at the National<br />

Museum of Archaeology, which is open to the<br />

public for free. This exhibition showcases the<br />

primary findings of this research and is open<br />

until 15 June. <strong>MBR</strong><br />

The National Museum of Archaeology,<br />

Valletta (MJCL1703201801-03)<br />

Courtesy: The ministry for justice, culture and<br />

local government<br />

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