The Golden Calf of Gozo () is a
golden statue of a calf that was supposedly discovered buried under the Hill of
Ta' Gelmus in 1729 on the island of
Gozo
Gozo (, ), Maltese: ''Għawdex'' () and in antiquity known as Gaulos ( xpu, 𐤂𐤅𐤋, ; grc, Γαῦλος, Gaúlos), is an island in the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After t ...
,
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
. It was supposedly brought by Jewish refugees from the
destruction of Jerusalem
The siege of Jerusalem of 70 CE was the decisive event of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), in which the Roman army led by future emperor Titus besieged Jerusalem, the center of Jewish rebel resistance in the Roman province of Jud ...
and buried by
expelled Jews around 1494, before they left the island. Whether it was the original Golden Calf is open to interpretation.
Legend
A farmer named Sidor
eeds verificationis supposed to have had unearthed a golden horn from the Calf in one of his fields, after having been told of the statue by a stranger. He asked a merchant named Pupull for advice on selling the statue, but the merchant tricked him into turning the statue over to him for a few coins. When the farmer's wife found out, she became angry and told her neighbours about the deal. The story reached the ears of the
grand-master who sent men to investigate. Concerned, Pupull and the
hakem (governor) hid the statue, fooling the men. Finally the grand master himself came to investigate. He became suspicious after meeting the hakem and talked to the farmer who told him the whole story. The hakem was dismissed from his post. Pupull refused to tell where he had hidden it. He was imprisoned in the dungeons of
Fort St Angelo, but died under torture without revealing the location of the Calf.
Another version of the legend changes the merchant to a
goldsmith, Calogero.
A Maltese poem called "L-Għoġol tad-Deheb" and written by F. X. Mangion refers to this legend.
Factual version
A cave was discovered in 1729 near
Inland Sea
An inland sea (also known as an epeiric sea or an epicontinental sea) is a continental body of water which is very large and is either completely surrounded by dry land or connected to an ocean by a river, strait, or "arm of the sea". An inland se ...
,
Dwejra Point, that once held the statue of a golden calf on a solid gold pedestal. Some of the details of the legend match with this story, naming the grand master as
Manoel de Vilhena
Manuel may refer to:
People
* Manuel (name)
* Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers''
* Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies
* Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire
* M ...
. Pupull's name is given as Dr. Cassar.
Count
Ciantar states that on
Ghelmus hill near
Żebbuġ, Gozo a golden calf was found in 1729.
Baron
Bali de Stadl wrote a dissertation about it. It was likely of
Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
n origin.
References
Resources
*
Ashby, T. "Roman Malta" Journal of Roman History 5 (1915): 23-80
*
Lost sculptures
Culture of Malta
Victoria, Gozo
Golden calf
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