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MUSEUM OF ARCHAEOLOGY
The Museum of Archaeology is located within the walls of the Citadel just behind the Old Gate. It is housed in a 17th century building that originally served as a Town Hall where the Knights of the Order of St. John used to host their distinguished guests. For some time it was also the residence of the Bondi' family but for some unknown reason it was abandoned and suffered considerable damages. In 1937 the Spanish style Renaissance town house was restored by Sir Harry Luke, then Lieutenant Governor of Malta. In 1960 it was inaugurated as the first public museum in Gozo, the Gozo Museum. The exhibits incorporated the archaeological and ethnographic aspects of the Island. In 1986 the Museum was redesigned and reopened as the Archaeology Museum of Gozo. The Museum illustrates the cultural history of the Island of Gozo from the prehistoric era to the early modern period. The exhibits come from various archaeological sites and are presented in a way that give the visitor a chronological view of the time span covered.

The ground floor covers the Neolithic Period, the Temple Period and the Bronze Age (5200 BC- 700 BC). The first room houses a selection of decorated potsherds, pottery vessels, stone/ bone implements and pendants from various settlements and tombs mainly from Xaghra. Relics from Ggantija temples are found in the second room where a slab with a carved relief of a snake, stone rollers and plaster casts of two stone heads are the main attractions. The upper floor houses exhibits from the historical Phoenician, Roman, Medieval and Knights' periods. The collection includes jewellery, coins, marble statues, oil lamps and funerary objects. Of particular interest is a glass bottle which still contains cremated human remains. This was found in Vajringa Street, Victoria. Material found on the seabed is displayed in the Xlendi Room while a number of commemorative inscriptions adorn the walls of the other rooms. A second century Punic inscription commemorating the building and restoration of sanctuaries in honour of various Punic divinities and a stone slab with an inscription in Cufic (Early) Arabic lamenting the death of a 12 year old Muslim girl are among the main exhibits of interest. Another masterpiece is a high quality marble statue representing a she-wolf with the legendary twins Romolus and Remus found at Fontana.(c.1720)

more photos
Archaeology Museum Facade Inside the Museum Some exhibited pottery
USEFUL INFORMATION
Cittadella ticket (Gozo Museum of Archaeology, Old Prison, Natural Science Museum + Folklore Museum) Adults (18-59 yrs) €8.00

Students (12-17 yrs) & senior citizens (60+) €5.00

Children (6-11 yrs) €4.00

______________________________________________________________________ Xaghra ticket (Ggantija Temples + Ta’ Kola Windmill)

Adults (18-59 yrs) €8.00

Students (12-17 yrs) & senior citizens (60+) €6.00

Children (6-11 yrs) €4.00

______________________________________________________________________ Discover Gozo ticket (all six sites)

Adults (18-59 yrs) €12.00

Students (12-17 yrs) & senior citizens (60+) €8.00

Children (6-11 yrs) €6.00


* Visitors are welcome not later than 30 minutes before closing time.
Getting there: On foot from Victoria Centre
Opening Hours: MON to SUN: 9.00am to 5.00pm
*Closed: 24, 25 & 31 December, 1 January, Good Friday
Telephone: 21556144

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