Sicilian copper age hypogea

One day, I would like to visit the late Neolithic hypogeum at Calaforno near Monterosso Almo in Ragusa. The famous Sicilian archaeologist Sebastiano Tusa wrote to me some years ago, saying that it was ‘di difficile ubicazione’, meaning ‘hard to locate’, except of course for the locals.

He writes in his volume “La Sicilia nella Preistoria“that it is ‘pieno di rifiuti‘, meaning ‘full of rubbish’. Therefore, its restoration is overdue. I shall write about it to the authorities in Ragusa province, prodding them with the restoration of our own remarkable Hypogeum at Hal Saflieni, Paola. The Calaforno hypogeum reportedly has 35 round chambers.

Then there are remains near Calascibetta the smaller hypogeum of the same period at Malpasso, which may also prove interesting.

Sebastiano Tusa has sketches in black and white of both these Si- cilian Late Neolithic hypogea, writing that especially Calaforno’s was inspired by Malta’s hypogeum. ( Edizione Sellerio, Palermo 1990). I have a copy at home, and there is one in the University Library at Tal-Qroqq.

Maybe Ann Gingell Littlejohn and Patricia Camilleri can organise a trip for the Archaeological Society covering these two sites that are of undoubted interest to us Maltese, who now have a revived Hypogeum at Hal Saflieni, and a smaller one at Tal-Faqqani or better Hal Fuqani, in Santa Lucia’s modern township, awaiting restoration. They lie just one kilometre apart, and I have been to the site, which is surrounded by housing of the late 1950s to 1970s near Wied Garnaw, just near the modern Chinese Garden, recently re-embellished. It is a real garden of peace, and is worth a visit. Bernard Vassallo. Swieqi