The Maltese archipelago and its mysteries lie in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. The people who once settled it probably came from Sicily (about 90 km north of Malta) and settled here between the 6th and 5th millennium BC, but they did not choose the most kind place to live.

Megalithic structures

There are very few rivers, rocky shores on the small islands that make up the archipelago, and there are no conditions suitable for agriculture. It is difficult to understand why Malta was already inhabited in the Neolithic. Another mystery is the fact that around 3 BC, about 800 years before the creation of the Pyramid of Cheops, the locals began to build huge megalithic temples.

Until about 100 years ago, these buildings were considered monuments of Phoenician culture, and only new dating methods made it possible to specify their age. Until the discovery of Göbekli Tepe, archaeologists were convinced that Maltese stone temples were the oldest in the world. Scientists are still researching and arguing about where the culture of these buildings originated - it came to islands from the east or was created by locals…

28 temples

There are a total of 28 temples in Malta and the adjacent islands. They are surrounded by walls of stone blocks, some of which resemble Stonehenge. The length of these walls is on average 150 meters. The temples are precisely oriented to the southeast, and on the days of the summer solstice the rays of the sun fall directly on the main altars. Some of the temples are located underground.

The two oldest temples are considered to be the sanctuary of Ġgantija on the island of Gozo. Built on a hill, 115 meters high, they were very well visible from a distance. Both buildings are surrounded by a common wall.

The older, south-facing, temple consists of five semicircular apses, which are spread around the inner courtyard in the form of a trefoil. In some apses of the southern building and in one northern temple we can still see where the altars were. The height of the outer wall reaches 6 meters in places and the weight of some limestone blocks is more than 50 tons.

Magic power of temples

The stones are joined by something similar to mortar. Traces of red have also been preserved. In the oldest cults, magical power was attributed to this color; could denote rebirth and return to life. A fragment of a female statue, 2,5 meters high, was also discovered here. It was the only tall statue found on the Maltese archipelago.

In all other ancient temples, only statuettes that were not higher than 10 - 20 cm were discovered mostly. According to some scholars, gangantija Vatican Neolith., The center of the spiritual and secular life of Maltese civilization. Apparently, the sanctuary was once equipped with a vault that was not preserved. Similarly, temples are built on the island of Malta.

We know very little about the people of this megalithic culture. We do not know who they were, what gods they worshiped, nor what ceremonies were performed in these shrines. Most scientists claim that the local temples were dedicated to a goddess who was known as the Great Mother of the Gods (Kybeleé). This hypothesis is also confirmed by archaeological finds.

Stone blocks

In 1914, stone blocks were accidentally plowed while plowing the field. It later turned out that they belonged to the Ħal Tarxien shrine, which had been hidden underground for a long time. The director of the National Museum, Themistocles Zammit, decided to start the excavations after a cursory inspection. After six years of work, four interconnected temples were discovered, as well as a large number of statues. Among them were two half-meter figures, called the Venus of Malta.

The inner walls of the temples are decorated with reliefs depicting pigs, cows, goats, and abstract shapes, such as spirals, which were considered a symbol of the all-seeing eye of the Great Mother. Excavations have shown that animals were sacrificed in these places.

The oldest of the shrines was built around 3 BC During the construction of the temple complex, which covers an area of ​​250 square meters, limestone blocks weighing about 10 tons were used. They used stone cylinders to move them, similar to those found by archaeologists near one of the temples.

On the southeastern edge of Valletta is the underground sanctuary Safal Saflieni (3800 - 2500 BC). Archaeologist and Jesuit Emmanuel Magri began the excavations here in 1902. After his death, Themistocles Zammit continued his work, uncovering the catacombs, where more than 7000 human bodies were found.

Spirals and various ornaments

The catacomb vaults are visible in ornaments, most often spirals, painted in red. We now know that this complex was both a temple and a necropolis. The total area of ​​the sanctuary exposed is about 500 square meters, but it is possible that the catacombs lie under the whole capital of Valletta.

Safal Saflieni is the only shrine from the Neolithic period that has been preserved in its entirety. We can only guess what was really going on in these places. Did bloody sacrifices be brought here? Did people come here to answer the oracle? Did they interact with demons from the underworld here? Did the souls of the dead ask for help, or were young women consecrated here and became priestesses of the goddess of fertility?

Maybe it was treated here and as a thank you people brought the goddess statues to the temple. Or were only funeral rituals performed here? And, for example, the building was used much more prosaically and harvested grain from a wide area was stored underground…

Sleeping lady

Of the thousands of statues found in Safal Saflien, the most popular is the Sleeping Great-grandmother, sometimes called the Sleeping Lady. He is resting on the bed and lying comfortably on his side. Her right hand is under her head, her left hand is pressed to her chest and her skirt is surrounded by massive hips. Today, this 12-centimeter-sized statue is housed in the Archaeological Museum of Malta.

This and other findings may lead us to believe that 5 years ago there was a matriarchy in Malta and important women, clairvoyants, priestesses or healers were buried in the underground necropolis. However, not everyone agrees with this interpretation and to this day there are disputes about it.

In fact, in many cases it is very difficult to determine whether a statuette represents a woman or a man. Similar figures from the Neolithic period were found during excavations in Anatolia and Thessaly. A sculpture was also discovered, which they called the Holy Family, consisting of a man, a woman and a child.

The construction of the temples ended around 2 BC It is possible that the reason for the extinction of the megalithic civilization in Malta was a long-term drought or depletion of agricultural land. Other researchers believe that in the middle of the 500rd millennium, warring tribes invaded Malta and occupied the islands of great magicians, healers and clairvoyants, as one historian put it. The culture, which flourished for many centuries, was then destroyed almost in an instant.

Archaeologists have a lot of mysteries to solve. Is it possible that people have never actually lived on these islands? Did they just come here from the mainland to perform ceremonies in temples or bury the dead and then leave the "islands of the gods"? Could Malta and Gozo be a kind of sacred territory for the Neolithic period?

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