Roderick Bovingdon
From a humble diver to an accomplished author! This rendition of St Paul’s connection with Malta, as laid out in this new publication, is not a bad effort at all. The account given in Mark Gatt’s PAVLVS The Shipwreck 60 AD is a well researched piece of work that reveals the writer’s enthusiasm in seeking out the truth of his “historical” find; a discovery which lay beneath the waves of Salina Bay for the last two millennia.
Considering the potentially deep significance, from a number of different angles Mark Gatt has pursued his “find” with alacrity and aplomb; leaving no obvious stone unturned.
Unperturbed by the various, age old, alternative suggestions for the actual site of St Paul’s shipwreck, he has researched his material, with determination and in the right places. Having consulted some of the best minds in the different fields impinging upon his subject matter, from archaeology to language deconstruction, from biblical scholarship to the experience of weather beaten mariners and trudging through the vagaries of history, including the entire gamut of other resourceful individuals who could possibly lend a hand in solving this age old mystery, he persists to this day, in his pursuit of this seemingly “irretrievable” truth.
This publication, Pavlvs: The Shipwreck 60 AD, coming at such an opportune moment at the height of the current Ecclesial celebrations of this Pauline Year, whether one is a believer or otherwise, this fresh work is bound to reinvigorate academic and church interest in the whole saga surrounding this Paulian journey. Indeed, whether St Paul actually landed on Malta or on some other Mediterranean port, is prudently and wisely not discarded, while leaving the final say to the collective evidence and research, both from bygone days as much as of those yet to come forward. Again, given that Malta is the favoured site by the majority opinion supported by intensive past research, Mark Gatt then goes into the actual site of the famous Shipwreck, arguing rather convincingly, against the traditional St Paul’s Bay (Selmun) choice and favouring the newly preferred Salina Bay.
The discovery and recovery of the anchor chip at Salina Bay, some four years ago, followed by this well presented account, which is amply supported by historical, archaeological, mythological, biblical and linguistic argumentation, not to mention also the meticulous inquiries surrounding technical matters concerning weather patterns, sea currents, seasonal variations, geographical details et al, make for a potentially most exciting discovery indeed. Should a direct link between the anchor chip and St Paul’s ship ultimately be proven, then the national significance to the Maltese people would be incalculable. It would be to us, as a nation, the find of the century; without a doubt. And flowing from such a grand discovery, the fallout over so many other fields of knowledge, would open up a potentially vast array of deeper possibilities.
The author Mark Gatt has unassumingly and wisely, left all doors open to future knowledge, without at any moment seeking to impose his calculated theory as the final chapter in a long running saga. Without any pretensions, the writer gives a highly readable account of his find, ever mindful of making unfounded assumptions. He pursues his interest with the sensitivity of one who genuinely cares for the truth while, just as enthusiastically, he wishes for a favourable outcome. To sit down and write such a painstaking account of all the technical guff surrounding the actual find, intertwined with the biblical story of the Shipwreck, would be enough to discourage a lesser-determined person.
The book itself is attractively presented in large print, for the convenience of those who labour with finer fonts. The various sketches given and the numerous quotations, further embellished by practical photographs of relevant geographical spots along Malta’s shoreline, and at the appropriate seasonal moment, further enhance the richness of a compelling account which is bound to leave its mark upon this simmering saga from yesteryear.
It gives me great pleasure and a certain sense of pride, in having been associated, even in this relatively minor measure, with this potentially most significant discovery. Apart from having myself taken a personal and private interest in St Paul’s historical relationship to Malta, I feel that I have also partaken in the Pauline celebrations, even from this distance at the other end of the globe, in Australia, through my own translation into Maltese from Italian of Dun Karm’s Il Naufragio di San Paolo a Malta, published by Malta University Publications. May I say that these two works (Mark Gatt’s and my own) placed side by side, make for an appropriate celebratory conclusion to this special Pauline year, nominated as such by the Holy See himself.