shards possibly carrying the inscribed name of the Phoenician god Ashtart were also found. Other minor remains, now lost, include a menhir towards Marsascala and a stone circle at Bir id-Deheb. Along the southern edge of Żejtun, excavations led to the discovery of an ancient Roman villa. The remains still contain areas of the original Roman tiling and coloured stucco. The complex was an active settlement since the Bronze Age, although the presently visible remains can be dated from the Punic period right up to Late Antiquity. More evidence of ancient habitation in the area comes from burial grounds, such as those around St Gregory's Church, Tal-Barrani, Tal-Ħotba and Bulebel. The excavation site at the villa confirms the presence of a thriving olive oil industry at the southern end of the islands. Modern historical studies and topology confirm that the area between Żejtun and Marsaxlokk was covered in vegetation and pasture land. Medieval Żejtun With the collapse of Roman rule in the early 5th century, the Roman villa in Żejtun entered a period of long decay. The Christian religion and Byzantine civilisation, however, clung on at Tas-Silġ, with the construction of a three-aisled basilica built atop pagan temples. The basilica remained in use until the Arab invasion of AD 870. The historian Ibn Hawqal wrote about the invasion of AD 870, describing how the whole islands were depopulated. Modern scholars debate whether the invasion marked an outright “ethnic break and not merely a cultural and religious switch on the Maltese islands.” Little is known about Żejtun under Arab rule. Outside Mdina and possibly Birgu, hardly any village existed. However, a number of Late Medieval place-names in the general area of Żejtun, such as Bir id-Deheb, Ħajt il-Wied, Tal-Ħotba and Bulebel il-Kbir serve to highlight the intensity with which the area was used. One such name, il-Minżel, in Bulebel iż-Żgħir, can be translated as 'field at the descent' or the 'field at the house,' with the word manzil meaning a resting place, a place of alighting, settlement or abode. A large number of place-names implies the accessibility of the land, and therefore its use. Hence, the area was extensively used, with the Arabs using the established agroindustrial infrastructure as the basis for their presence in Malta and Gozo. With the Norman occupation of 1091 and re-establishment of Latin rule in 1127, a slow re-Christianisation process began with monks from the monastery