Hypogea and the clubhouse: Neolithic Malta's houses of the living and the dead.

Caroline Malone; Rowan McLaughlin; Robert Barratt; Eoin  W  Parkinson

Hypogea and the clubhouse: Neolithic Malta's houses of the living and the dead.

Caroline Malone, Rowan McLaughlin, Robert Barratt^*, Eoin W Parkinson

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Natural and Built Environment

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review

Abstract

Traditionally called "temples", the megalithic buildings of Neolithic Malta mirror the structure and form of contemporary subterranean burial complexes, the Hypogea. Recent work by the ERC FRAGSUS project has explored the structural elaboration that spanned about1500 years, resulting in sophisticated forms of 'houses', designed for the living and the dead. Emerging from simple houses and rock cut tombs, the third millennium architectural culmination seen in the temple period sites of Malta is intriguing. Influenced by cosmology, the layout of sites reflected communal activities of feasting, food storage, symbolism and imply a close relationship between living and dead in the way houses were conceived in the minds of the Neolithic Maltese. This paper presents some of the new discoveries within a robust new chronology.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Houses of the dead?
Subtitle of host publication	Neolithic Studies Group Seminar papers 17
Editors	alistair Barclay, David Field, Jim Leary
Place of Publication	Oxford
Publisher	Oxbow
Chapter	2
Pages	15-37
Number of pages	23
Volume	17
ISBN (Electronic)	978-1-78925-411-2 (epub)
ISBN (Print)	978-1-78925-410-5
Publication status	Published - 2019

Publication series

Name	Neolithic Studies Group Seminar Papers
Publisher	Oxbow Books

Bibliographical note

Malone instigated the paper by the first writing of a conference paper at the British Museum seminar, and then enabling PhD student Barratt to take on the final editing.

Keywords

Burial, megalith, tomb, house, Neolithic, Malta, metaphor

1 Finished

R6395ARL: Fragility and sustainability in restricted island environments: adaption, cultural change and collapse in prehistory
Ruffell, A. (PI), Blaauw, M. (CoI), Hunt, C. (CoI), Malone, C. (CoI), McCormick, F. (CoI), Reimer, P. (CoI) & Whitehouse, N. (CoI)
01/08/2012 → 30/04/2018
Project: Research

NVTV interview - Behind the Science
Malone, C. (Participant)
Impact: Cultural Impact

4 Publication peer-review
3 Invited talk
2 Other
1 Participation in conference
More
- 1 Membership of national or international committees and working groups

World Archaeology (Journal)
Malone, C. (Peer reviewer), Stoddart, S. (Peer reviewer) & McLaughlin, R. (Peer reviewer)
Dec 2018
Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Publication peer-review
'Interdisciplinary Archaeology in Malta: Seeking a New Island Prehistory
Malone, C. (Advisor)
13 Nov 2018
Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
Hypogea and the Club House: Neolithic Malta's houses for the dead.
Malone, C. (Advisor)
05 Nov 2018
Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk

Replaying the past: Establishing a 3D simulation methodology for the analysis of roofing and alignments in Neolithic Malta
Barratt, R. (Author), Malone, C. (Supervisor) & Megarry, W. (Supervisor), Jul 2021
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis › Doctor of Philosophy

File

9 Article
8 Chapter (peer-reviewed)
6 Chapter
5 Book
More
- 3 Other contribution
- 1 Paper

Temple people: bioarchaeology, resilience and culture in prehistoric Malta
Stoddart, S., Power, R. K., Thompson, J. E., Parkinson, E. W., Mercieca-Spiteri, B., McLaughlin, R., Pace, A. & Malone, C., 15 Jan 2023, Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. 512 p. (Fragility and Sustainability - Studies on Early Malta, the ERC-funded FRAGSUS Project; vol. 3)(McDonald Institute Monographs)
Research output: Book/Report › Book

Open Access
File
Light and Dark in Prehistoric Malta.
Malone, C., Barratt, R., Stoddart, S. & Anderson, M., 01 Feb 2020, The Oxford Handbook of Light in Archaeology. . Papadopoulos, C. & Moyes, H. (eds.). Oxford: Oxford University Press, (Oxford Handbooks).
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
Placing and remembering the dead in late Neolithic Malta: bioarchaeological and spatial analysis of the Xagħra Circle Hypogeum, Gozo.
Malone, C., McLaughlin, R., Barratt, R., Power, R., Mercieca Spiteri, B. & Parkinson, E. W., 28 Apr 2020, (Early online date) In: World Archaeology.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Open Access
File
6 Citations (Scopus)

192 Downloads (Pure)

Cite this

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title = "Hypogea and the clubhouse: Neolithic Malta's houses of the living and the dead.",

abstract = "Traditionally called {"}temples{"}, the megalithic buildings of Neolithic Malta mirror the structure and form of contemporary subterranean burial complexes, the Hypogea. Recent work by the ERC FRAGSUS project has explored the structural elaboration that spanned about1500 years, resulting in sophisticated forms of 'houses', designed for the living and the dead. Emerging from simple houses and rock cut tombs, the third millennium architectural culmination seen in the temple period sites of Malta is intriguing. Influenced by cosmology, the layout of sites reflected communal activities of feasting, food storage, symbolism and imply a close relationship between living and dead in the way houses were conceived in the minds of the Neolithic Maltese. This paper presents some of the new discoveries within a robust new chronology.",

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Hypogea and the clubhouse: Neolithic Malta's houses of the living and the dead. / Malone, Caroline; McLaughlin, Rowan; Barratt, Robert et al.
Houses of the dead?: Neolithic Studies Group Seminar papers 17. ed. / alistair Barclay; David Field; Jim Leary. Vol. 17 Oxford: Oxbow, 2019. p. 15-37 (Neolithic Studies Group Seminar Papers).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review

TY - CHAP

T1 - Hypogea and the clubhouse: Neolithic Malta's houses of the living and the dead.

AU - Malone, Caroline

AU - McLaughlin, Rowan

AU - Barratt, Robert

AU - Parkinson, Eoin W

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Y1 - 2019

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AB - Traditionally called "temples", the megalithic buildings of Neolithic Malta mirror the structure and form of contemporary subterranean burial complexes, the Hypogea. Recent work by the ERC FRAGSUS project has explored the structural elaboration that spanned about1500 years, resulting in sophisticated forms of 'houses', designed for the living and the dead. Emerging from simple houses and rock cut tombs, the third millennium architectural culmination seen in the temple period sites of Malta is intriguing. Influenced by cosmology, the layout of sites reflected communal activities of feasting, food storage, symbolism and imply a close relationship between living and dead in the way houses were conceived in the minds of the Neolithic Maltese. This paper presents some of the new discoveries within a robust new chronology.

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BT - Houses of the dead?

A2 - Barclay, alistair

A2 - Field, David

A2 - Leary, Jim

PB - Oxbow

CY - Oxford

ER -

Hypogea and the clubhouse: Neolithic Malta's houses of the living and the dead.

Abstract

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Keywords

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Cite this