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Location:
Near Mnajdra, Malta
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Grid Reference:
(14° 26' 46" E, 35° 49' 40" N). |
-
 Hagar
Qim.
(Temple).
('Jadjar-Kim', means 'cult-stones', or 'monument stones')
Description
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Assigned to the 'Ggantija' phase. This site has been Radio-carbon dated to
about 3,300 BC.
It is paired with the nearby
Mnajdra temple complex.
(Click
here for map of the site)
(Scroll down for more)..
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Hagar Qim (Jadjar Kim):
The impressive temple facade.
Close-ups
of the huge kerb stones that run around most temples and
the huge eroded limestone blocks of the front
face.
The sockets at the bottom of the stones are believed to
have been used to lever the larger stones upright .
On the
Eastern side of the temple, the remains of a statue can be seen. It is
believed to be the base of two missing 'mother-goddess' statues. A cache of
small Mother-goddess statuettes was also found under a step inside the
temple, is now on display at Valletta museum of Archaeology.
Facing
North-East is a contrasting 5.2m high menhir, sometimes referred to as a
'phallic shrine'.
The carved 'support stone' at its base makes
it unique (apart from a single menhir in Portugal), in that other menhirs
are usually bedded directly into the ground by 10 - 20%. of their length
The
largest stone at the temple, and possibly all of Malta, is found in the
Northern wall of this temple; It is over 7m long, and is estimated to weigh
about 70 tons.
(Other large stones)
 
A selection of stone holes from the site.
(More about
holed-stoned)
Within the Temple are two alters, supported by 'mushroom'
shaped stones. It has been suggested that these indicate the use of
hallucinogens.
Although there are plenty other 'mushrooms' at
nearby Mnajdra (above), raising the question of who is hallucinating what?
The complex has numerous temple areas (Note the corbelling
effect in the centre photo)
The 'tree
of life' motif - in a 'plant pot' !!!..
Astronomy: There is an Equinoxial alignment
to the alter stone inside the holiest of holies. This fragment of pottery
(right), with a solar wheel on it was found at Hagar Qim.
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