Ras ir Raheb

RAS ir- Raheb

Ras ir-Raħeb, known also as Ras il-Knejjes is a scenic limestone promontory in north western Malta, close to the hamlet of Baħrija. The headland is located in the administrative area of the council of Rabat. Ras ir-Raħeb lies in the north western corner of the Rabat-Dingli-Mdina plateau, just off Fomm ir-Riħ Bay. It rises to 45 metres above sea level.The peak allows views of the west coast of the island, as far as the cliffs of Ta' Ċenċ in Gozo. A wide variety of vegetation grows on the headland, including large populations of esparto grass on the clay slopes in the area. The headland also serves as a navigational marker.

The headland incorporates the ruins of a megalithic temple, as well as Punic-Roman remains. Scholars have been arguing about the function of these remains for centuries. Interpretations differ from a domestic villa to a small religious shrine, as well as a major temple dedicated to Heracles. The headland is also a popular diving site, which also includes a cave. The Ras ir-Raħeb coastline forms part of the Rdum Majjiesa to Ras ir-Raħeb marine protected area, the first marine area to be protected in Malta, in 2005.

The archaeological importance of Ras ir-Raħeb was known since the late sixteenth century, with attempts to identify these remains with the Fanum Iunonis temple mentioned by Cicero. Other Renaissance historians did not agree with this view, describing only the existence of "ruins and ancient factories.

In 1922, the remains were brought to the notice of the Maltese archaeologist Themistocles Żammit by the owner of the land. A large, square area paved with "very regularly laid" small, baked tiles, was discovered by the farmer who tilled the field. The archaeologist unearthed "a frame of stonework" as well as the remains of a door-sill. The amount of household pottery, betrayed “a numerous settlement.” Żammit went on to state that "the site should be kept in mind as one that could be studied and excavated with profit.

The site was partly excavated by a team of Royal Navy officers under Capt. D. Scott and Sgn. Comdr. P. Pugh. However, the exposed masonry as well as contemporary deposits had been almost completely eroded, making the interpretation of the archaeological remains very difficult. Work began in November 1961 and finished in May 1962, when a party of naval divers explored the seabed off the headland, reaching a depth of over 60 metres. A few scattered stone blocks lying in the sand were noted. The report of this excavation is brief, with the published plan of the site being inaccurate. The team was of the opinion that the place "was used as a sacred site from Neolithic times to about the 4th century AD." 

The site itself suggests a building complex of importance, commanding extensive sea views. It was surrounded, on at least three sides, by an esplanade delimited by a semicircular wall which extended from east to west and can be followed for a length of about 62 metres. Today, only the foundation stones, cut in squared limestone blocks, survive but a plan of the cluster of rectangular rooms grouped round a central courtyard can still be made out. The pavement of small white marble cubes embedded in concrete, and a few diamond-shaped tiles survived in one of the rooms until 1977,but by 1988, these had disappeared.^[14]In the centre of the main room, there are two well dressed oblong stones, which were thought to form part of an altar.

In the north-eastern corner, there is a long and narrow rectangular cistern. It has a circular opening dug into a block of limestone, with an opening for rainwater at one end. Although no water source feeds the cistern, the permanent spring of Għajn Bierda, which flows a hundred yards to the south-east, may have been deviated to lower ground, providing the buildings with a year round supply of fresh water.

A main point of interest of the remains at Ras ir-Raħeb is the integration of two rough stone megaliths within the Punic-Roman structure. These are the remains of an earlier, prehistoric structure. The only other instance in Malta of the reuse of the remains of a prehistoric building is at Tas-Silġ where the rear-apse of a megalithic temple was included in building of a Punic-Roman sanctuary. These two sites share a number of similarities, such as the position of the courtyard with respect to the rest of the building – leading to the hypothesis that the Ras ir-Raħeb site may have also had a religious meaning. A reassessment of Ptolemy’s descriptions attempted to link this site with a temple to Heracles, but the arguments are not conclusive.

During the 1962 excavation, a coin of Constantius II was found, hinting at a long life of the building and its possible use in early Christian times. A “great quantity of pottery” found in the cistern included the whole range of the Roman occupation. Four other coins found at the site were in an advanced stage of corrosion, with two of them being classified as Siculo-Punic.

Of greater interest is an ivory plaque, with a low relief of a crouching boar that is not of Classical Greek influence and may indicate the survival of Punic culture. Two clay satyr masks on vessel legs were also found, and classified as Punic. The remains of a clay figurine of a nude male youth, broken from the waist upwards, however, is probably a late Hellenistic work. Several other pieces of clay figurines, including another male nude and a draped female holding a small pyxes, a small grotesque head of a bald and bearded old man, and a fragment of a cloaked figure were collected from among the debris. Fragments of incense stands were also found. In addition to this site, a small quarry of unknown age lies south of these remains. It is possible that it provided the stone for the building of the complex.

Source: Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ras_ir-Ra%C4%A7eb

a closer view of the temple ruins

Fomm ir- Rih bay