Malta is a member state of the European Union and is located on the Maltese archipelago of the Mediterranean Sea. The main islands are Malta, Gozo and Comino, with the city of Valletta chosen as the capital. Many students come here to improve their English speaking skills, relax, make acquaintances and get to know a little about culture and history. Actually, I was no exception.
One of the pictures of the coast of the island of Malta, all the photos of this article were taken by myself
Panoramic view of the outskirts of Valletta.
Residential building in Valletta.
A street in the capital of Malta.
Another street of Valletta.
Neolithic temples with altars or not?
Promotional video:
What struck me outside of all the student bustle was the ancient buildings - megaliths, which are located on the islands of Malta and Gozo. These structures, according to scientists, were built at least around 4500 BC. Ancient Egypt, Sumerians and Babylon, the Celestial Empire and Hellas come to mind when you remember the existing civilizations proven by scientists, from the school history of the ancient world I remember that the pyramids of Egypt and the Sumerian Ur are almost the oldest buildings. But is it?
The twenty-three buildings located in the Maltese archipelago offer a challenge to the course of ancient history as we know it. A group of prehistoric temples of Malta is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, among them Ggantija, Mnajdra, Hajar-Kim, Skorba, Tarshien, Ta-Hajrat, Hal-Saflieni and others. Whether these buildings were temples where altars were located, or whether they were settlements, remains a question. It is simply impossible to get into all the temples-structures, the recording is made several months before, but I will tell you more about two of them.
Mnajdra and Hajar Kim on the island of Malta
It is not difficult to get to the structures of Mnajdra and Hajar-Kim, just as you can buy a ticket here in just a week.
The tents covering Mnajdra.
The easiest way is to take buses 74 or 201 from the airport, by the way, this is the most convenient way to travel around Malta in general. It is better for a thrifty tourist to take a travel card for a day, a week or a month and enjoy the discoveries. When you get to the Hagar stop, you immediately feel all the militancy of the southern coast.
Malta's south coast near the stop leading to the megaliths.
The most difficult time in Malta is lunchtime, but it is at this time that the complexes have the least number of tourists. A small excursion about the megaliths is held in a small museum building next to the complexes. Right there, on one of the stands, not just complexes are shown, but also the passage of a sunbeam during the equinox and solstice. Doesn't it look like anything? No connection with the pyramids?
The passage of a sunbeam into the altar of the temple.
The photo shows how on the main days of the Earth's rotation, the sunbeam penetrates exactly into the cell of the altar and illuminates it. Unfortunately, in Mnajdra and in Hajar-Kim, the megaliths are severely destroyed by the sun, winds and local residents who carried away blocks of limestone for their economic needs. But one of the altars remained intact. Please note that the structure of limestone is very porous, reminiscent of chocolate. What are these traces?..
Altar and porous limestone structure.
Who built such powerful structures in the 5th century BC? How were the blocks weighing about 200 kg obtained, processed and delivered? How “primitive” was the instrument for such people? Or how tall were they? All this sends us to the study of more ancient civilizations, such as Atlantis or Hyperborea.
Author: Lyubava Romanova
