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The small Mediterranean island of Malta is home to one of the great
wonders of the archaeological world, the prehistoric burial chambers of the
Hal-Saflieni Hypogeum.
This remarkable site is one of the more impressive on the UNESCO World
Heritage List. Dating back to around 3600 BC, the Hypogeum is testimony to
the artistic and architectural achievement of an extraordinary culture.
Few scholars at the turn of the century would have realised the
significance of the site. But the Hypogeum was destined to change our
understanding of Malta's
antiquities and contribute to new thinking in the then emerging study of
European prehistory.
Malta's
megalithic sites were known abroad as early as the 16th century when the
Knights of St John first made the islands their home. However, until the
mid-19th century it was widely believed that the temples were the monuments
of a mythical giant race.
The Hypogeum and Malta's
many neolithic temples are the legacy of a culture unparalleled in the Mediterranean. They represent a unique episode in the
evolution of mankind.
Today, the Hypogeum presents us with some of the most challenging
perspectives on the beliefs and rituals of an ancient Mediterranean
culture.
The exact circumstances of the Hypogeum's discovery remain as shrouded in
mystery as the site itself. It was unearthed by chance at the turn of the
century when Malta
was undergoing rapid industrial development.
While primarily a burial chamber, it reveals evidence that the Stone Age
Maltese developed a complex culture and set of beliefs. The Hypogeum
(underground chamber) was the final resting place for some 7000 people over
the course of a millennium (3600 and 2500 BC). It was hewn out of 'the
living rock' at the same time as the neolithic community was erecting a
wave of megalithic 'temples' across the islands.
One of the distinguishing features of the hypogeum is the imitation of
megalithic architecture. There is no structural basis for this design; it
is almost totally decorative and instead of being built out of boulders, it
is carved out of the rock.
The distinctive trilithon structure which forms the facades of the temples
is carved out with precision at the Hypogeum. It is astonishing that the
temple builders were able to produce this complex 'architecture in the
negative'. They would have cut the rock using only antler picks and stone
mallets.
The Hypogeum was intended as a temple for the dead as near perfect as the
ones for the living. There is evidence to suggest that rituals took place
inside the Hypogeum as well as at temple sites.
Similar artefacts and art forms were found in both the Hypogeum and in
temple sites. The spiral shapes painted in ochre on the Hypogeum's walls
and carved in stone relief at several of the temple sites indicate that the
neolithic islanders used symbolism to represent ideas.
Figurines and sculptures such as the colossal statues or 'fat ladies' found
at the temples and the Hypogeum, suggest that the islanders worshipped a
deity. The theme of a goddess recurs throughout the ancient Mediterranean
world. The elaborate art and artefacts of Malta suggest however that the
community followed a cult more complex than that of simple fertility
worship.
Unlike many of the figurines, the so-called 'sleeping lady', a clay
figurine of exquisite workmanship found at the Hypogeum, is a very naturalistic
representation. She may represent the a link between life and the after
life. Today, the figurine is a symbol of the nation's extraordinary
heritage and is deeply ingrained in the Maltese sense of identity.
Whatever their beliefs, we know that this unique cultural experiment came
to an abrupt end in around 2500 BC. So radical was the change that the
islands may have been uninhabited when the next culture emerged.
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