September 27, 2022: Exploring the Ancient Past

September 27, 2022 cjbishop@yahoo.com

Today we are to explore several of the ancient temple sites of Malta, located outside of Valletta. Our initial stop was at the Tarxien temple complex located about 7 km from Valletta. The complex was “rediscovered” by farmers in 1914 and restoration of the site began in the 1950s. This site, dating from 3600 to 2500 BC, is the most complex of all temple sites in Malta and consists of four megalithic structures. The temples are renowned for the detail of their carvings, which include domestic animals carved in relief, altars, and screens decorated with spiral designs and other patterns.The site seems to have been used extensively for rituals, which probably only involved animal sacrifice as there was evidence of animal bones in the area, but no human remains.

The temple complex at Tarxien. There are designated walkways and a massive covering over the site to protect it from further erosion.

Schematic of what the temple looked like.

I was surprised at the shape of the rooms-basically round.

Interior views of one of the temple rooms. What look like feet were actually part of a statue.

Holes for leather straps that acted as hinges.

Thought to be sacrificial altar. Note carvings in the stone.

I was amazed at how large the temple structure was and the fact there were multiple rooms in the building. The fact that these structures existed 1,000 years before the pyramids of Egypt blew me away. I had never heard of this piece of history before this day.

From here we drove to the other major site in the area, known as Hagar Qim, but we first made a stop at the Blue Grotto which is on the way to Hagar Qim. Normally we would be able to take a small boat ride to the grotto but the sea conditions on this day prevented the boats from operating. However, we did have an opportunity to interact with a real Maltese falcon and his trainer at the viewpoint overlooking the grotto. Never one to pass up a unique photo opportunity I had my picture taken while holding the falcon! I was amazed at how light it was and the falcon pretty much ignored me while sitting on my arm.

This is the closest we got to the grotto today.

Not much vegetation in this part of the island.

No boats taking people to the grotto as it was too windy.

After a quick view of the grotto from afar and a stop for some refreshments, we went to see the remains of the megalithic temple at Hagar Qim. There is a main building dating from the era of 2600-3200BC, with several smaller buildings nearby that may be even older. We got to see a short 3D movie about the site before walking to the site itself. There is evidence of animal sacrifice being held here but no evidence of any human sacrifice. As is often common in many ancient structures there is a hole in a wall that allows the sun to shine on a particular location during the summer solstice. Like the Tarxien complex the temple contains adjoining rooms and some of the stone pieces are huge! Excavations and restoration of the temple started back as early as 1839. It would take significantly more time spent at these temple sites to fully understand their meaning; we only got a glimpse and quick overview of their history and meaning.

A popular souvenir of an ancient statue linked to the area.

Another famous replica of an ancient artifact found here.

Display showing how round rocks made moving large stones much easier than using logs.

Watching the 3 D movie about the temple complex.

Schematic speculation on how the temple was constructed.

Showing how the temple was originally covered.

Ornate carvings on a piece of stone from the complex.

Some of exterior walls. These walls were larger than those seen in Tarxien.

This gives you a feel for how big some of these stones really are.

Schematic showing how the massive stones were moved and erected.

Schematic describing one of the biggest stones found here.

The hole in the wall allows the sun to reach the interior wall only during the summer solstice.

The last exploration of the day was a visit (and lunch) at the nearby fishing village (population 3,660) of Marsaxlokk. We were not overly hungry so we simply opted for pasties served by a vendor located at the waterfront. They were quite tasty and something different.

Rock walls everywhere! And I thought Ireland had a lot.

The Marsaxlokk harbor. It is a fishing port.

Street vendors along the waterfront. A lot of linens were featured.

Pasties stuffed with various meats and cheeses . They were really good!

The main church (Our Lady of Pompei) in Marsaxlokk.

Returning to Valletta we bid farewell to our tour guide and prepared to go to our final dinner in Malta, as tomorrow we leave. The original restaurant picked by Secret Italia was changed at the last minute and we were picked up and transported to the nearby town of Sliema. We were a bit surprised that the tour company would transport us to the distant town when there were so many restaurants near our hotel in Valletta. As it turned out, the tiny (14 tables), out of the way ( down a very narrow street) place is a favorite of the owner of Secret Italia (the restaurant owner told us ) and we assumed he simply wanted us to sample a very non-tourist restaurant for our final meal. It was a nice gesture and it turned out to be a delightful evening. I even opted for the very traditional Maltese dish of rabbit stew for my entree (tastes like chicken). Again we ordered what we wished on the menu in the way of food and drink and the bill was never presented to us for payment. A cab was ordered for us and delivered us back to our hotel, again without a charge to us. I was impressed.