Being Roman in Malta: Artefacts, People, and Rituals in the Sanctuary of Tas-Silġ

The sanctuary of Tas-Silġ, located near the harbour of Marsaxlokk in southeastern Malta, offers exceptional evidence for the study of religious continuity and transformation in the central Mediterranean. Originally a Late Neolithic megalithic complex, the site was later reconfigured as a Phoenician-Punic sanctuary dedicated to Astarte and, after Malta’s incorporation into the Roman sphere, as the Fanum Iunonis known from Cicero’s writings. This paper examines the architectural, votive, and material evidence from the sanctuary in order to assess how Roman influence affected pre-existing cult practices. The evidence suggests that, although the Roman period introduced new architectural arrangements, imported artefacts, and changing patterns of consumption and trade, the essential character of the cult remained remarkably stable. The interpretatio of Astarte as Hera-Juno did not erase earlier traditions but adapted them within a new cultural and political framework. Votive offerings, inscriptions, pottery, lamps, food remains, maritime objects, and ritual deposits reveal the persistence of the goddess’s roles as guardian of the island, protector of seafarers, and recipient of offerings connected with female identity, healing, liberation, and communal consumption. The study of everyday artefacts, especially ceramics, further highlights the sanctuary’s integration into wider Mediterranean exchange networks while also showing the selective incorporation of Roman material culture into established ritual practices. From the 2nd century AD onwards, the archaeological record points to a gradual decline in attendance and the partial abandonment of some areas, although parts of the sanctuary remained active into Late Antiquity. Tas-Silġ thus emerges as a key case study for understanding cultural resilience, religious adaptation, and shifting socio-economic dynamics in Roman Malta.