Malta – Gozo – Victoria – Museum of Archaeology

Gozo’s museum of archaeology is located inside an historic house, the Casa Bondi, just inside the walls of the Cittadella. Care was taken with the restoration of the building, which has been sensitively renovated and retains some architecturally interesting features. The museum was originally opened in 1960 as a general museum and has specialised in just archaeology since 1986.

A selection of Roman anchors.

A Roman tablet dating to the second half of the second century AD.

This skeleton was found inside of a broken container, and it’s thought that it might be a burial conducted in a hurry by sailors who wanted to create a grave of sorts.

A slab which noted the efforts of one soldier, Bernardo De Opuo, to fight the Ottomans when they invaded Gozo in 1551. Rather than see his wife and two daughters dragged into slavery, Opuo killed them and he was then killed himself in the fighting. He’s perhaps an unlikely hero, but there’s a street named after him in Gozo as well.

The Maymūnah Stone, which is an Arabic tombstone which dates to around the twelfth century, a reminder of the different ownership of the islands. The stone itself was reused and was originally a stone from the Roman period and inscriptions from that date remain. The islands were Muslim until around 1224 when the Arabs left Gozo.

This is the life-sized foot from a Roman statue and the stone was found inside of a wall inside the Cittadella.

This tablet was found in 1855 and dates to the Punic period of Maltese history, to around the third century BC. Some of the tablet is missing, but it’s known to be a dedication to the renovation of a temple.

This isn’t a huge museum and a visit isn’t likely to last more than an hour, but it’s well put together and has numerous interesting exhibits. I got in with my Heritage Malta pass, but it’s possible to buy individual admission or get a joint ticket with other historic attractions in Gozo.