Category History

Malta’s Prehistoric Treasures

Who knows whose neck the exotic jadeite amulet adorned? To reach the Maltese shores, this item travelled a very long distance in prehistoric times. Therefore, it must have been really treasured, raising the status of its owner. It is difficult…

The Selling Game

Advertising is said to reflect the societal tastes, beliefs and norms. By looking back at the adverts that were published in the Times of Malta at the end of the years 1939 to 1944, this becomes very clear. Yet even…

Never Forgotten

Recently, Max Farrugia has donated a collection of 10,500 memorial cards to the National Archives of Malta. I was curious to learn why someone would wish to have such a collection and what was its value to the national archives.…

From Stories to History

For hundreds of years, the recording of the past focused on public records, statistical data and the lives of prominent people. Yet in recent decades, the spotlight turned onto the general public and its memories in order to provide a…

A Curious Discovery

Skeletons found in hidden Żejtun corridor reported the Times of Malta on Tuesday, 15 April 1969. A photo of sacristan Ġann Marì Debono holding a skull in his hand accompanied the news of this remarkable discovery which up to this…

Lights Out for Christmas

Christmas time and the days preceding it are generally associated with colour, light, optimism and fun. Yet this was not the case in 1939 when the Christmas season became synonymous with gloom, darkness, uncertainty and fear. On 18 September 1939,…