Ta' Ġawhar Tower is a round Punic-Roman tower in the village of Safi,

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 ...

. The tower is the best preserved of the six

Punic-Roman towers in Malta The remains of six Punic-Roman towers have been identified in Malta. They are believed to have been built while the island was part of the Punic or Roman Empires. Their architecture suggests a late Punic origin, and they remained in use throug ...

at approximately seven wall courses high. The tower was probably built at the time of the Punic Wars, although it continued in use during the Roman period before its destruction in the 3rd century AD.

Description

Six round towers survive in various degrees of preservation on the main island of Malta. Thought likely to be of

Punic The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of t ...

construction, they appear to have been built in response to the period of unrest associated with the Punic Wars in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. The remains of Ta' Ġawhar Tower consist of the lower seven courses of the tower. It is built up of large ashlar blocks, typical of Punic architecture. The walls at the foundation level are 3 metres thick, and the tower has an overall diameter of 14 to 16 metres. The tower also has a rectangular cistern attached to it. The Ta' Ġawhar Tower was excavated by David Trump in the 1960s. Finds included two bronze buckets, a double-bladed axe head, a gold wire earring, and a carbonised bread roll buried following the burning of the building. Two coins were found: one was minted in Malta dated to 35 BC with the legend of Arruntanus Balbus, and the other was a coin of the 3rd century AD representing the Roman emperor

Claudius II Gothicus Marcus Aurelius Claudius "Gothicus" (10 May 214 – January/April 270), also known as Claudius II, was Roman emperor from 268 to 270. During his reign he fought successfully against the Alemanni and decisively defeated the Goths at the Battle ...

. Trump dated the destruction of the tower towards the end of the 3rd century AD, and suggested an association with the invasion of the

Heruli The Heruli (or Herules) were an early Germanic people. Possibly originating in Scandinavia, the Heruli are first mentioned by Roman authors as one of several " Scythian" groups raiding Roman provinces in the Balkans and the Aegean Sea, attacking ...

in 269. The tower is scheduled as grade 1 national monument by the

Malta Environment and Planning Authority The Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA, mt, L-Awtorità ta' Malta dwar l-Ambjent u l-Ippjanar) was the national agency responsible for the environment and planning in Malta. It was established to regulate the environment and planning ...

and is also listed on the

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands The National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands (NICPMI) is a heritage register listing the cultural property of Malta. The inventory includes properties such as archaeological sites, fortifications, religious buildings, mo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ta' Gawhar Tower Towers in Malta Archaeological sites in Malta Ruins in Malta Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Malta National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Limestone buildings in Malta Safi, Malta

Description

Further reading

See also

References