There are 131 village feasts happening throughout the summer in Malta. These are an expression of Malta’s distinct cultural, social and religious identity and endeavours are underway to give them their due recognition; if successful, festi will be listed in the UNESCO world cultural heritage list, alongside Brazil’s street samba dance and China’s dragon boat festivals.
While none of this has yet been confirmed, Malta also has an already impressive amount of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, particularly when considering its size. Some places in Malta are so extraordinary that they are considered not only national heritage but world heritage; let us take a look at them and what makes them special.
Valletta
The entire capital city of Malta, Valletta, is considered by many to be an open air museum. “The state of preservation of its well-constructed patrimony serves to make Valletta an example of historic conservation on a universal scale,” states the UNESCO website.
Built after the Great Siege of 1565 following an urban plan with fortified and bastioned walls, lavish Renaissance architecture and hundreds of monuments, it is one of the most concentrated historic areas in the world. The city is one of the rare urban inhabited sites that has preserved in near entirety its original features, having undergone no important modifications since 1798, the date when it was abandoned by the Knights of St John who built it.
Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum
Photo credit: Flickr / Norma Gabaldon Bardisa
The Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum is listed with “outstanding universal value” highlighted in its description. It is considered one of the “essential prehistoric monuments in the world” because it is one of the best preserved and most extensive environments that have survived from the Neolithic.
The Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum is an underground complex hand cut into the rock in imitation of the architecture of the contemporary, above-ground megalithic temples. It consists of three underground levels up to 10.6 m deep and dates from around 4000 to 2400 B.C. It was discovered in 1902 in Paola, and excavations revealed the remains of about 7,000 individuals, decorated pottery, shell buttons, stone and clay beads and amulets, and small animals and birds carved from stone, which indicate that the place was used as a sanctuary and for burial purposes. The most striking finds are stone and clay figurines depicting human figures, including the Sleeping Lady, which is a work of art in itself. Meanwhile, the spiral and honey-comb designs in red ochre on the walls and ceiling are the only prehistoric wall paintings found on the Maltese Islands.
The Megalithic Temples
The Megalithic Temples site listed includes: Ġgantija Temples, Ħaġar Qim, Mnajdra, Tarxien, Skorba and Ta’ Ħaġrat Temples. These temples appear on the World Heritage List as a group and represent a unique architectural tradition that flourished on the Maltese Islands between 3600 and 2500 B.C., yet each is the product of individual development and displays some architectural features not found elsewhere. Each complex is a unique architectural masterpiece which is even more extraordinary when one considers the time when they were built and the limited resources of the builders.
Ġgantija Temples
The Ġgantija Temples in Gozo are the oldest, free-standing monuments in the world, 1,000 years older than the Egyptian pyramids. In fact, the earliest phase of megalithic construction (3600-3200BC) is named the Ġgantija phase. The site consists of two temples with two apses leading off a central corridor and it is the only temple that still has a well-preserved boundary wall. Animal bone remains suggest the temples may have been used for some sort of ritual involving animal sacrifice, while stone hearths indicate the use of fire and libation holes in the floor the pouring of liquid offerings, possibly blood.
Ta’ Ħaġrat Temples
Photo credit: Flickr / Leslie Vella
The site was excavated near Mġarr, Malta, mainly between 1923 and 1926, to discover two buildings, the oldest dating 3600-3200 BC. This temple complex and that of Skorba, nearby, gave archeologists valuable information regarding how the tradition of temple building was handed down in Malta. The structure of this temple is unique, with a monumental doorway, a bench running along the length of its awe-inspiring facade and a large courtyard surrounded by a raised stone kerb, which further leads into three chambers via megalithic doorways. The ceramic material found indicates that the site was used both before and after the construction of the Temples.
Skorba Temples
Photo credit: Flickr / Jacqueline Poggi
The site of Skorba is found in Żebbiegħ, on the outskirts of Mġarr, and was excavated in the early 1960s. This archaeological site includes the remains of two megalithic temple structures, the eldest of which also dates to the Ġgantija Phase (3600-3200 BC).
“This temple is unique for providing crucial evidence concerning the domestic aspect of the prehistoric people, including the temple builders themselves. There are also the remains of several domestic huts, in which the prehistoric temple builders used to dwell. Some structures date from before the Temple Period (i.e. before 3600 BC) and, therefore, are amongst the oldest constructed structures on the Maltese Islands. Scientific studies on these structures have provided crucial evidence on the life-sustaining resources which were available at the time and have also thrown light on the dietary patterns of the prehistoric people,” states the Heritage Malta website.
Ħaġar Qim Temples
Photo credit: Flickr / Andrew Hargitai
Ħaġar Qim was first excavated in 1839. The site, located on the outskirts of Żurrieq, consists of a central building and the remains of at least two more structures dating to the Ġgantija phase (3600-3200 BC). Some of the largest megaliths used in the building of such structures are found here, and include a 5.2 m high stone and a massive megalith estimated to weigh close to 20 tonnes. The building itself is made up of a series of apses, one of which contains a small elliptical hole through which the first rays of the rising sun shine on the first day of summer, the Summer Solstice, illuminating one of the low slabs in that apse. Three “table altars” are found in one of the chambers. During excavations, a slab bearing a pair of opposing spirals in relief and a free-standing pillar decorated on all four sides were found. Stone and clay statuettes of obese figures known as “the fat lady,” thought to be a fertility goddess, were also found.
Mnajdra Temples
Photo credit: Flickr / Norma Gabaldón Bardisa
Mnajdra is located just 500 m away from Ħaġar Qim Temples. It consists of three buildings facing a common oval forecourt, with the oldest structure dating to the Ġgantija phase (3600-3200 BC) and the others coming later. However, other remains in the area indicate that these three structures are only the best preserved of a larger complex. The walls of Mnajdra give a good indication of what a temple building’s roof would have looked like. Opposite the main entrance is a doorway, and decorated blocks mark the position of the rising sun on the first day of spring and autumn (the Equinoxes) and the first day of summer and winter (the Solstices), a remarkable technology for those times.
Tarxien Temples
Photo credit: Flickr / bivez
The Tarxien Temples were discovered in 1913 and the site was extensively excavated between 1915 and 1919. The site consists of a complex of four megalithic structures built between 3600 and 2500 BC. However, there are indications that the site was re-used as a Bronze Age cremation cemetery, between 2400 and 1500 BC. These temples are best-known for the highly decorated stone blocks and screens, reliefs of domestic animals and spirals, the lower part of a colossal statue of a skirted figure and ‘oracle’ holes. The temples also include a number of altars, one of which contained a flint knife and animal bones. The Central Temple was constructed with a unique six-apse plan and contains evidence of arched roofing. Tarxien has also contributed to the study of the construction of these megalithic structures with the discovery of stone spheres, which have been interpreted as being stone rollers, used as aids to transportation of the megaliths.
Did you know that these sites are protected UNESCO world heritage sites? Which other places in Malta do you think deserve to be listed? Leave your comments below and please rate and share.
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