Sharon Sultana
Seabourn Conversations, Featured Speaker
Sharon Sultana, senior curator of the National Museum of Archaeology, Valletta, holds advanced degrees in cultural heritage management and is one of Europe’s leading experts on Maltese pre-history and heritage. As an archaeologist, Sharon has published a wide range of papers on conservation, authenticity and prehistoric life in Malta. Her work as senior curator has emphasized reality versus myth in Maltese pre-history with a special interest in the famous and misunderstood “elongated skulls.” As a UNESCO World Heritage speaker, Sharon will lecture on this particularly interesting period of human settlement and bring the ancient past of Malta to life in her two focused conversations.
Conversation Topics
The Wonders of the UNESCO World Heritage Megalithic Temples of Malta - Myths and Facts (3600-2500 B.C.)
The Maltese prehistoric temples are shrouded in mystery. Who built these unique temples and how? What type of rituals were being conducted inside the temples and what about the numerous unparalleled statues found inside these temple sites? Were they really built according to star alignments to be used as primitive calendars?
Life on the Maltese islands during the Neolithic period (5200- 2500 B.C.)
Archaeological evidence shows us that the first people to step on the Maltese Islands came over from Sicily around 5200 B.C. These people brought with them families, animals and agricultural crops to start living on these uninhabited islands. They also brought with them a culture which evolved locally into something quite unique and exceptional that is not found anywhere else, such as the oldest freestanding monuments of the world.