Gozo is one of three Maltese islands; Malta, Gozo, and Comino, situated just 90 kilometers (55.92 miles) south of Sicily, smack in the middle of the Mediterranean. The two main islands of Malta and Gozo are served by an hourly ferry service. Comino is the smallest of the three and is primarily a tourist destination famous for its Blue Grotto.
Ġgantija is situated on a plateau, located on the outskirts of the town of Xaghra. Many tourists flock to the town for their weekly open market and beautiful church, totally unaware of the magnificent historic site that lies just around the corner.
Investigating the Ġgantija Temples
Scientific investigations carried out comparatively recently have proven that these temples have been standing here for over 6000 years. Evidence remaining shows that originally the temples had roofs that were plastered and painted. The exact purpose for which they were built is still a mystery – although there is little doubt that they were places of worship.
Ġgantija consists of two separate temples: The South Temple (3600 BC) and the North Temple (3000 BC). The temples were excavated in 1826, though scientific excavation did not commence until around the late 1920’s.
View of the Ġgantija temple complex.
The huge dimensions of the megaliths have sparked the imagination of all who behold them. It is suggested that the gigantic structures were erected during the Neolithic Age, (c. 3600-2500 BC). This would make them more than 6000 years old, some of the world’s oldest free-standing structures, and of course some of the world’s oldest religious structures, pre-dating the Pyramids of Egypt. (The Old Kingdom is most commonly regarded as spanning the period when Egypt was ruled by the Third Dynasty through to the Sixth Dynasty (2575 BC–2134 BC).)
This timeline also places the Ġgantija temples to about the same time as Stonehenge. Stonehenge is a Neolithic and Bronze Age monument located near Amesbury in Wiltshire, England, about 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Salisbury. I have visited Stonehenge several times since I was stationed nearby during my British Air force service in the early 50’s. It is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones, also known as megaliths. There is some debate about the age of the stone circle, but most archaeologists think that it was mainly constructed between 2500 BC and 2000 BC. The older circular earth bank and ditch which constitute the earliest phase of the monument have been dated to about 3100 BC.
To this day, locals believe that the Islands’ temples, in particular those of Ġgantija, were the work of giants! Its name, Ġgantija, is Maltese for “belonging to the giant”, bearing witness to this ancient legend.
‘Gozo (Giants’ tower)’. ( Public Domain ) An 1848 view of the Ġgantija megalithic temple in Gozo, Malta, from the series ‘L’Univers pittoresque.’
Signs of an Earth Mother Goddess Cult
It is believed the temples were possibly the site of an Earth Mother Goddess Fertility Cult. Numerous figurines and statues have been found on-site which are believed to be connected with that cult.
A mother goddess is a goddess, often portrayed as the Earth Mother, who serves as a general fertility deity, the bountiful embodiment of the earth. As such, not all goddesses should be viewed as manifestations of the mother goddess. She ranges in Western traditions from the elegant snake-offering goddess figures of Knossos to the rock-cut images of Cybele, to Dione (“the Goddess”) who was invoked at Dodona along with Zeus until late Classical times.
Early “Mother Goddess” figure at the Tarxien Temples (Malta).
Life in the Neolithic Age
Neolithic peoples were farmers and manufacturers of tools necessary for harvesting crops and food production. They were skilled producers of a wide range of stone tools and ornaments. Neolithic peoples in Central Asia were also skillful builders, utilizing mud-brick to construct houses and villages. In Europe, houses from wattle and daub were constructed.
Unique tombs were a major part of their culture. These tombs are particularly numerous in Malta, where there are many hundreds still in existence. Neolithic people in Britain built long barrows and chamber tombs for their dearly departed.
They were skilled at finding ways of keeping food for future months and using substances like salt as preservatives. With few exceptions, the Neolithic Americans and their Pacific cousins remained at the same level of technology up until they made European contact.
The post The Ġgantija Temples of Gozo: A Mysterious Megalithic Complex of Maltese Giants and Dwarfs appeared first on IrresistibleMT.
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