Temples, bones and burial chambers

The age of things found in Malta is mind-boggling. As if the story of the Knights of St John, their fabulous baroque churches and impenetrable fortifications is not interesting enough, temples, bones and burial chambers date from an era when numbers are made hazy by sheer magnitude.

A day’s outing in the mid-western towns of Paola and Tarxien (pr. tarsheen) first took in relatively recent remains from the temple period - circa 2500BC. Exquisitely cut and carved stone structures are adorned with a prize example of the intriguing, apparently female statues found at various sites. The proportions are suggestive of a sumo wrestler. The craft work is incredible for a pre-metal tool age. The purpose remains a mystery. The temple was discovered during excavations, buried beneath a bronze age burial ground.

I was able to secure places on a much coveted, midday special tour of the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum. If initial explanations had been accepted, I would have believed that this was really booked up until two weeks after our departure from the island. All the guide books warn that advance booking is necessary as only 12 people may enter at any one time. The small print says that a small number of tickets for a special (and more expensive) tour are sold at various locations a day prior. Persistence and gentle persuasion managed to secure two of these.

No photography is allowed inside – which is a pity because the scale and the sense of antiquity are hard to describe in words. These pictures from a brochure show what some of the chambers look like. Carved, not constructed, in sandstone, a complex of large and small interconnected caves occupy three levels extending about 40 feet below current ground level. The chambers were found filled with human bones from what appeared to be mass burials. Paintings remain on the roof of some and stone ornaments, including the famous sleeping lady were found inside. These chambers were first discovered by builders in 1902 digging cisterns to store rainwater underneath new houses. This is a common system on an island that gets very little rain over the long summer months. They kept quiet about the find so they could finish the project – why does it not surprise me to hear this? After they owned up, the government acquired the site, which was dug out over many years and now remains almost invisible, surrounded by houses in a residential area, but surprisingly different once inside.

I’d like to know more about the age of the bones and what form of human life they represent, so will read up on that later. What did human life look like in 3500BC and therefore 5500 years ago?

All this is just a 47c bus ride from where we are staying. But then most of Malta is no more than two such journeys from anywhere. Buses run on time, come in old, new, cramped and comfortable styles. All bought up when overseas countries have finished with them, they might last forever in these efficient, industrious islands if they follow the trend set by temples, bones and burial chambers. At the end of the journey home, the sad fact of more recent human remains appeared before the camera.

The last stop on the archaeology tour is within walking distance of the Birzebbuga apartment. Ghar Dalam Cave puts the Tarxien Temples and the Hypogeum in the realms of mere teenagers. The cave sits amidst fields and old dwellings, and like the Hypogeum, is quite a contrast to the rest of the setting.

A huge collection of truly ancient animal bones overlayed by remnants of human activity is on show. Not just one Pleistocene hippo tooth and ankle bone, but an entire case full with a few impressive stalactites and stalagmites to round off the picture. The cave was formed by a river flowing towards the sea, hence such a large collection of relics in one location. Bones can still be seen in the clay deposits and in layers of ground cut away inside the cave.

A cold glass of local wine a 1.75 Euros and bottle added a touch of the modern to reflection at the end of a mind blowing day.