[Fr Emmanuel Magri main page] [Patri Manwel Magri u l-Ipoġew: Maltese]

Emmanuel Magri (1851-1907)

1851 (27/2) born in Valletta
1871 (11/05) joined the Society of Jesus in Gozo
Novitiate in Milltown Park, Ireland; Philosophy at Stonyhurst, England; Regency at Santa Venera, Malta; Theology in France, Spain, and Gozo
1881 (26/07) ordained priest in Tortosa, Spain.
1882-84 Teacher at St. Ignatius’ College, Sliema.
1884-88 Teaches Hebrew, Philosophy and Scripture to Jesuit students at Naxxar
1888-92 Treasurer at the College of Santa Pulcheria, Istanbul, Turkey
1890 (15/08) professed Final Vows in Instanbul.
1892-98 Prefect of Studies at the Gozo Seminary
1898-1902 Assistant to the Provincial of Sicily
1902-06 Rector of Gozo Seminary
1906-07 Superior in Catania
1907 (29/03) – died in Sfax, Tunisia

Fr Emmanuel Magri and the Hypogeum

[translated from Josef Mario Briffa sj, "Patri Manwel Magri u l-Ipoġew", f'Lil Ħbiebna, Novembru 2003, pp. 195-197. Original and translation © Copyright: the author, 2003.]

One hundred years ago, in November 1903, the Committee of Management of the Museum, proposed Fr Emmanuel Magri, a Jesuit, as Director of the excavation of the Hypogeum at Hal Saflieni, now recognised as a World Heritage Site. This centenary is a good occasion for us to remember this Jesuit. Father Magri is well known for his studies of folk-tales and lore, but what can be said about this poineer of Maltese archaeology? And what was his opinion about the Hypogeum?

At first things look hopeless. Around a year before his death, Magri was appointed superior of a new Jesuit community in Catania. Magri died suddenly and unexpectedly on Good Friday (29th April) 1907, in Sfax, Tunisia where he had gone to preach Spiritual Exercises during Lent.

His notes, and the report he was writing, haven't been found. Fortunately, we do have a some letters Magri wrote to the Government, and now even some other to the British Museum.

Between 1903 and 1906, Magri worked on a number of sites, among which the Hypogeum. Fr Magri was held in high esteem, so much that Dr Temi Zammit in the Museum Annual Report for 1904 wrote:

"The exploration of the hypogeum lately discovered in Paula, in the Has-Saflieni field, is the first work the committee has taken in hand. The exploration is being carried on under the supervision of Father E. Magri, S.J., whose competence is unquestionable and who undoubtedly give us a full report on the completion of the work."

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Father Magri and Archaeology

A first question which comes to mind is: what preparation in the field did Magri have? Archaeology as the discipline we know today was in its infancy, and contemporary archaeologists often had training in fields related to archaeology: Classical studies, Sacred Scripture, and the natural sciences.

Magri, as a Jesuit and a priest, had studied Philosophy and Theology. We should add that, as a Jesuit, Magri taught Sacred Scripture and Hebrew in the Gozo Seminary.

It is all clear, from his publications, that Magri was well learned in ancient history, and Classical languages and literature. Magri was also up-to-date with what the contemporary scholars were saying.

Father Magri was among the first members of the Malta Archaeological and Scientific Society, founded by Governor Grenfell in 1900. Magri gave four lectures (including the inaugural one) of the thirteen held by this Society in the first three years.

One of the lectures - on three Phoenician inscriptions - was published. Magri academic competence emerges clearly: in the detail of the presentation and commentary on these inscriptions, in the care with which he draws the conclusion, and in the counter arguments against his own position which he presents.

When the same Governor set-up the Committee of the Museum in 1903, Magri was chosen as one of its members, among other personalities like Dr Temi Zammit.

Plan of the remains at Xewkija, Gozo

On behalf of the Museum Committee, Magri directed the excavation of the Hypogeum at Ħal Saflieni. But this was not the only project. In October 1904, Magri conducted excavations on the suspected site of a megalithic temple in Xewkija (where now the Rotunda stands). We also know that in 1905 and 1906 he studied six other sites in Gozo (where he was Rector of the Diocesan Seminary). Among these site were one at Ta' Ċenc (Borġ l-Imramma), remains at Santa Verna, and other sites in Kerċem, Żebbuġ and Xagħra. This latter site, "an elliptical structure between the site of the ancient Church of St. Anthony and the “Giants’ Tower”" [Ġgantija], could very well be Brochtorff Circle.

The Report on the excavations at Xewkija was published in 1906. Magri described carefully and in detail what he managed to find. As a collector of folk-lore, he gathered witness to the existence of megalithic remains which had been destroyed in the last years. Worthy of note is Magri's study of the few sherds he managed to gather. Magri tries to compare the pottery with that from Mycenae (Bronze Age in Greece) and from Carthage. He also sent some samples to the British Museum for dating. Magri seemed to hope to place these sherds in a wider picture together with the pottery from Santa Verna and Ħal Saflieni which he was studying.

Magri died before completing other reports. It is clear that Magri was writing the ones on Santa Verna and Ħal Saflieni: we may presume that the notes were with him in Sicily. If he wrote in such detail about the little he found at Xewkija, what did he have in mind for the Hypogeum?

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The exploration of the Hypogeum

Undoubtedly, the most important site studied by Magri is the Hypogeum at Ħal Saflieni. We know Magri worked on the site between November 1903 and 1906. The Museum Annual Report for 1906 (dated 5th May) states that the excavation and surveying of the site were complete, and would be reported upon shortly. Apparently, Magri considered the work complete before leaving for Sicily. However, Magri died unexpectedly, and Temi Zammit had to take over the writing of the report, without the precious notes.

The Hypogeum: plan of the Lower storey and sections. They bear the name of P.E.Magri who directed the excavation.(L. M. Ugolini, Malta origine della Civilta Mediterranea, 1934) [reference courtesy of Daniel Cilia]

The houses on the Hypogeum were built before the site was reported to the Government. A 30-foot deep shaft, leading to the middle floor of the Temple, was dug. This remained the only entrance to the site until the recent conservation project re-opened the original entrance.

From Zammit's report, we know that they first removed the recent construction debris, thrown in by the builders. Then the ancient deposit was brought up: a dark humid earth, full of bone, pot-sherds and other finds. The deposit was brought up, allowed to dry and then seived.

The method looks so primitive, and it is easy for us to accuse Magri of incompetence in the way he directed the work. We ought to understand the serious problems which the site presented during the studies: an underground site, which meant that it was difficult to have enough light to work. The water which seeped in, especially in winter, was another issue. These problems meant that it took years before the site was opened to the public, and also presented a headache during the recent conservation project.

What about the stratigraphy? Archaeologists are now used to studying in detail the different layers of material, to understand how the layers built one on the other, to recognise the older layers from the more recent ones. This type of study had already started at the time, but was far less detailed than today. One also has to consider whether the layers can be clearly distinguised - as Temi Zammit could in the Tarxien Temple, between the Temple Period layer and the Bronze Age - or excavating a deposit were no clear layers are visible, as was the case with the Hypogeum.

Seventy years passed before detailed studies of a similar cemetery could be undertaken: the Xagħra Circle (Brochtorff Circle) in Gozo. The work undertaken at this site between 1987 and 1994 show us that Magri had a difficult task, and adding to this the problems of humidity and lack of light in an underground site, we understand that Magri seems to have directed the work well.

Magri seems to have collected carefully all the details, and if he could not be present for most of the work (as he was Rector of the Seminary in Gozo) he asked to have a competent foreman on site who could take notes, and refer to him the details. Some comments from Magri hand appear in the report on Xewkija. Magri refers to the Hypogeum as “the great necropolis at Has-Safliyeni in Malta”, a site which he associates with other megalithic sites - Santa Verna, Ġgantija and Ħaġar Qim — due to similarities in pottery ware and decoration from these sites with the finds in Xewkija. Magri also associates Ħal Saflieni with “the burial rites of the higher classes.”.

How old did he consider these sites? Magri was among those who still considered the temples as Phoenician. But with regards to the pottery, he already states that this type had not yet been found in Carthage where, Magri states, excavations had reached the layers dated to the 9th century B.C. But what did Magri conclude? Was he arriving to the conclusion that the Hypogeum and the Temples were older than the Phoenicians - that is, prehistoric? Apparently not, from what he wrote. Magri believes that in Malta pottery continued to be workes in older styles, when in Carthage foreign influences had already been felt. Magri concludes:

“The vase fragments found on the surface of the Xeuchia (Shewkiyah) temple, compared with those of our other early “High places” and of the Has Saflieni necropolis, show that the same style of ceramics prevailed from prehistoric times down to the Christian era, at least for divine worship and for the burial rites of the higher classes.”

Some new information comes out from Magri's correspondence with the British Museum. These letters continue to shed light on the painstaking way he undertook his studies, and how much he was up-to-date, in contact with the best institutions of his time.

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Conclusion

Father Magri is renowned for this work on Maltese folk-tales and folk-lore. His role in the archaeology of the Maltese islands should not be forgotten. Magri, together with other Maltese like A.A. Caruana before him, and Temi Zammit after him, placed the archaeology of Malta on a sound footing.

References.

• Magri, Emmanuel, Three Punic Inscriptions re-discovered in Malta. Edited with translation and Commentary, Malta: Government Printing Office, 1901.
• Magri, Emmanuel, Ruins of a Megalithic Temple at Xeuchia (Shewkiyah) Gozo. First report. Malta, Government Printing Office, 1906
• Mallia, Salv, Manwel Magri S.J. Malta: Istitut Komunikazzjoni Sociali, 1978.
• Museum Annual Reports 1904, 1906

Note: I would like to thank Dr Nicholas Vella, of the Department of Classics and Archaeology at the University of Malta, for his availability to discuss this article.