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Prehistoric Malta.
The Maltese islands possess a rich selection of prehistoric remains.
It is home to over 40 pre-historic temples
(including those on Gozo and Camino) (2).
Their frequency and attention to detail leave no doubt as to Malta's
importance in the past.
Quick Links:
'By
10,000 B.P. the Maltese archipelago was as we see it today'.
Most of the temples are believed to have
built between 3,600 and 2,500 BC, with the 'bulk
of the work finished before 3,200 BC'
(2). Their survival is a tribute to their constructors.
Malta has
been host to several ancient cultures and is
home to some of the oldest free-standing structure in the world. (See
Skorba Temples,
estimated at 5,200 BC). It was home to a race of Neolithic builders whose
temples show several specific similarities to the western
European megaliths and at the same time, have a unique style of their
own, suggested to have been the result of a phase of independent
'evolution' on the islands.
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(Scroll down for more)
     
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Featured Maltese sites.
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 The Hypogeum (of Hal-Saflieni) - Probably the most well known
megalithic site on Malta is the
Hypogeum, a carved-out underground complex
from which the remains of 7,000 human skeletons were found (although
only a hand-full now remain).
The
Hypogeum offers a unique insight into the mind of the Maltese temple
builders, and the discovery of a second Hypogeum on Gozo (Hypogeum
II), reinforces the image of a people preoccupied with the rituals of
life and death.
(More about the Hypogeum)
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Hal Tarxien - The
22 acre 'partner-site' to the
Hypogeum, the Hal-Tarxien has yielded an incredible array of sophisticated
skills and images including an immense 'mother earth' figure, spirals,
trilithons, holed stones and more.
The quality of work at this site betrays the existence of
an extremely sophisticated and skilled culture.
(More
about Hal Tarxien)
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Mnajdra and Hagar Qim - These two temple
complexes were constructed close enough together to be considered
'partner sites'. They
were both built with their entrances facing towards the sea and winter
solstice sun.
(More about
Mnajdra)
(More
about Hagar Qim) |
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 Ggantija
and the Xaghra stone-circle - These two
sites are the most prominent on the island of Gozo, and their close
proximity to each other classifies them as another example of 'paired
sites'. Of extreme interest is the fact that within and under the Xaghra
circle, a second hypogeum was discovered (The Hypogeum II), from which
the remains of approximately 700 human skeletons was recovered. The
obvious similarity to Hal Tarxien and the Hypogeum on Malta has led some
to consider the idea that other hypogea may be one day found on Malta.
(More about - Ggantija,
Xaghra stone-circle,
Hypogeum II) |
(Return to Top) |
Malta is believed by some to be
the legendary island of Calypso that Homer's Odysseus landed on.
The strong ritualistic aspects of the
temples and it's position in the centre of the 'Medi-terra -nean'
(middle of the earth), confirms Malta's status as one of the ancient
worlds 'Earth-Navels'.
( Other
Earth navel's)
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Maltese Cart Ruts.
 There are several excellent examples of
'Cart-ruts' on Malta (and Gozo), and in the waters surrounding the
islands too. For a long time now these rock-carved features have been
judged on their appearance only, and they certainly appear superficially
to have been the result of multitudes of passing vehicles.
Although this theory is likely to be correct in essence,
there are several stubborn contentions to this idea, such as:
There is no evidence of the wheel at any time in
Maltese history.
There are examples of single ruts in the water around
the island. (2)
In one case, the ruts can be seen to run at an angle
of 45°. (1)
The ruts invariably have smooth, almost polished
surfaces.
The deepest ruts are claimed to be around a metre deep
and a metre wide at the surface. (2)
In 2005, the European commission sponsored an
international research program to identify the true nature of these
ruts, which have now been found in several other countries, but nowhere
more prolific than in Malta.
(More
about Maltese cart-ruts)
(Cart-ruts from
other countries)
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Malta has long been the
heart-land of the Knights Templar,
with many Grand Masters interred in the St. Johns Cathedral in Valletta.
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Paired Temples.
It can been seen that many of the sites
were often sited in pairs (i.e. Hal Tarxien/Hypogeum, Mnajdra/Hagar-Qim,
Ggantija/ Xaghra), and that
at some of these sites, the temples themselves were also constructed in pairs.
(Ggantija-left and
Hal-Tarxien-right)
The outline of
the Maltese temples all follow a similar 'trefoil' design, unique to the island.
They have been likened to the form of the earth-mother
figures found on the island.
The interior shape of the temples is in fact 'cruciform', and similar in
principle to several astronomically orientated passage-mounds across Europe.
(Return toTop)
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Maltese astronomers - It was once claimed of Malta
that (with
the exception of
Mnajdra), 'There
are no significant astronomical alignments, they are all inward facing' (1).
However, in the light of new research which shows a clear
predominance for the orientation of most temples to the winter solstice,
and other other obvious discrepancies to this sweeping generalisation, this statement can no longer to be considered valid.
It seems, as with nearly all megalithic structures, that the
builders had a preference for orientating their structures towards key moments
of the celestial cycles. So frequent is this association that it becomes
tempting to suggest that the original function of the temples may have even been
to mark these events.
The best evidence that the inhabitants of Malta and Gozo were interested in
astronomy come in the form of discoveries of everyday objects such as this broken limestone slab from the Tal-Qadi Temple
(left) which has what certainly appears to be a representation of the heavens,
showing the moon and stars as well as a number of radiating lines dividing
it into quadrants, and the solar-wheel from a pottery shard found in Hagar Qim
temple. With regards the temples themselves, at
Mnajdra in particular, there are several significant alignments to mark
moments of the solar year.
(Click
here for more Archaeo-astronomy)
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Holed Stones.
A common construction feature found in many of the Maltese temples are
the variously shaped holed-stones which perforate the structures in
various shapes and sizes.
Some of these are easily recognisable as portals
(doorways), through which one passes from one chamber to another within
the temples.
While the larger holes are easily explained, there are several smaller
holes in the temples that presumably served other functions.
 The
feature in the photo on the left was carved in a stone beside the sea, and was
presumably designed as a 'Hitching-point' for a boat. It is a curious fact that
many of the Maltese temples have similar 'Hitching points' on the
ground in front
of the main entrances.
The same design feature can also be seen on the vertical faces
of stones inside the temples, where they appear to have functioned as 'door hinges', a
construction technique
which can also be seen in several constructions throughout
ancient Egypt.
Holed stones are found in several other ancient and sacred sites from
around the world - and in each case, they carry with them a tradition of
healing or benefit.
(Click here for more about Holed-Stones)
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Maltese
Fact -
The Xewkija church on Malta has the third largest
dome in Christendom, and was built on the site of an earlier
Christian structure, which in turn was built on the site of a large
dolmen, last recorded in the 17th century, and which was used as the
foundations of the church (3)
(Other Dolmens)
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Maltese concrete (Torba)
Ggantija, Malta
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The
temples on Malta are claimed to be some of the oldest free-standing temples in the
world.
A. Service (6), mentions the 'contemporary cement of the floor'
in the pavement of the Ggantija temple on Gozo, Malta (see
left), and although
the idea was not accepted for a long time,
The pictures below show how some of the
temple floors
were lined with huge stones, a process visible at several Maltese temples (Tarxien,
left and
Ggantija,
right), a process in contrast with the creation of .
(Other examples of
prehistoric 'concrete') |
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Venus figurines.
Several 'Venus
figurines' have been found on Malta.
(left) One of the larger
statues, it is made from a broad shallow rectangular block of
globigerina limestone. Between the shoulders is a hole pierced
through from the front and one from the back. It seems that this
socket must have been used for the attachment of (different?)
heads to the body. In the pitted holes that cover the four sides
of the rectangular pedestal is the remains of a red pigment. The
statue was found during the restoration of 1949, with another
three headless statues and a fragment of a forth, from a hollow
under the raised threshold leading to the high room of the temple.
(centre) from Mnajdra, the back-bone and ribs are marked correctly
on the back. (Right) from Hagar Qim. Made from hard-fired buff
clay with a grey core its head and feet are broken off. The
modelling of the figurine is extremely good, especially on the
back. It was found in the first room of the temple, next to the
spiral slab, in 1839. Its size is 13 cm (5 inches) high and 6.5 cm
(2.5 inches) wide at the shoulders.
The sleeping Lady from
the Hypogeum of Hal Saflieni is made of brown clay and on the
surface it has traces of red ochre. The clothed figure has
abnormally fat limbs and hips. She is naked to the waist and has a
skirt with a fringed lower part. The feet are broken away. The
wooden framework of the bed and the rush mattress is clearly
visible underneath the statuette. According to Sir Temi Zammit, it
was found in the 'snake/votive pit' in the main level of the
Hypogeum of Hal Saflieni.
This limestone statuette was found during
the excavation of the Xaghra Circle.
It was found close to what would have been the entrance into the
underground chambers. The obese figures lie on a 'bed' similar to
the 'bed' that supports the Hypogeum Sleeping Lady clay statuette.
On this particular 'bed', spiral designs are visible. Parts of the
body are covered with red ochre and the skirts show the remains of
black ochre. The obese couple are similar to the big statue of
Tarxien, and also have the same type of pleated dress and obese
calves. Only one head was found and it had broken from the main
body of the sculpture. On the lap of the left figure is a tiny
(also headless) obese baby figure similar to the two 'bigger'
figures. The other figure holds a small pot.
The discovery of the large
Earth-mother figure in Hal-Tarxien, near the Hypogeum confirms the
idea that the builders of the megaliths on Malta worshipped a
female deity or were governed by females.This larger-than-life female statue stands on
the right as one enters the
Hal-Tarxien temple complex. The top half is missing, as is the
head of several of the figurines.
This stone at
Hagar Qim is believed to be the feet of a pair of earth-mother
figures.
This female form (of a completely different
style) was found in the Hypogeum II,
on Gozo island..
(More about Venus Figurines)
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List and Description of Featured Maltese sites
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The following sites were also found on Malta.
These covered over holes are actually rock-cut vases or
cisterns.
There are several of them cut into the rocks near St.
Georges bay next to a set of cart-ruts that runs into the sea. They are now
permanently filled with sand and shingle.
This collapsed dolmen is called the 'Sansuna' dolmen,
it is in private ground and is concreted in on all four sides.
(Return to Top)
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