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Today's #Archaeology31 is #Folklore 
. Settle down, we are going to Gozo and we're about to encounter a might giantess #Malta #Gozo - so let me tell you a story. As always, photos by the amazing Daniel Cilia.
. Settle down, we are going to Gozo and we're about to encounter a might giantess #Malta #Gozo - so let me tell you a story. As always, photos by the amazing Daniel Cilia.
Once upon a time there was a giantess in Gozo and she built an immense place, carrying megaliths in one arm and holding a baby in the other. This place is now known as Ġgantija #Archaeology31
#Folklore cloaks the giantess in timelessness. She is around when people are around. They see her and sometimes even interact with her. Yet, there is no real sense of when she appears. People saw her carrying large stones on her head. #Archaeology31
cloaks the giantess in timelessness. She is around when people are around. They see her and sometimes even interact with her. Yet, there is no real sense of when she appears. People saw her carrying large stones on her head. #Archaeology31
She carried a baby, either in her arm or a pocket. Sometimes she carried the baby in a cradle around her neck and back, a type of sling. In her other pocket she carried beans. She also carried a basket of lint or flax. #Archaeology31 #Folklore
She walked while eating beans & sorting flax, baby round her neck, holding a large stone. She built a round dwelling in the village of Ta’ Ċenċ The house was known as Id-dura tal-mara, the woman’s dwelling. From there she carried large stones to Ġgantija. #Archaeology31 #Folklore
She also carried the Standing Stone of Qala (another village in Gozo) and the stones of Borġ Għarib near the village of Għajnsielem. #Archaeology31 #Folklore
Furthermore, in Xagħra l-Kbira, Ta’ Ċenċ, there was a large building similar to Ġgantija along which one can see the remains of many large stones. She also carried those. #Archaeology31 #Folklore
It is said that the Standing Stone of Qala was carried by a woman 1.5 times taller than the stone. There were two holes near the stone. She would stand on it and sort out lint. #Archaeology31 #Folklore
Many folk tales survive thanks to Fr Manwel Magri. His writings are not without problems (something I'm working on). More info on him here: https://jmbriffa.wordpress.com/2016/09/16/fr-emmanuel-magri/ - Magri was an erudite man but he had... ideas... about what is pure Maltese language #Archaeology31 #Folklore
In studying #Folklore we have to figure out the biography of a story, but also how it's been recorded, interpreted and promulgated. It's something I've been sifting thru for a while cos it's complicated #Archaeology31
we have to figure out the biography of a story, but also how it's been recorded, interpreted and promulgated. It's something I've been sifting thru for a while cos it's complicated #Archaeology31
The story is mired in #Phoenician identity with a side of antisemitism, the story of a nation trying to find itself (still hasn't, btw) and the immense struggle of getting your native language recognized #Archaeology31 #Folklore
If anyone else is dealing with #Folklore in #Archaeology I would definitely love to connect with you. #Archaeology31
in #Archaeology I would definitely love to connect with you. #Archaeology31
Holy giantess typos. Sorry folks. It’s Sunday. 
