The Hypogeum of Ħal Saflieni is a

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several par ...

subterranean structure dating to the Saflieni phase (3300 – 3000 BC) in Maltese prehistory, located in Paola,

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It li ...

. It is often simply referred to as the

Hypogeum A hypogeum or hypogaeum (plural hypogea or hypogaea, pronounced ; literally meaning "underground", from Greek ''hypo'' (under) and ''ghê'' (earth)) is an underground temple or tomb. Hypogea will often contain niches for cremated human rema ...

( mt, Ipoġew), literally meaning "underground" in Greek. The Hypogeum is thought to have been a sanctuary and

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

, with the remains of more than 7,000 people documented by archeologists, and is among the best preserved examples of the Maltese temple building culture that also produced the Megalithic Temples and

Xagħra Stone Circle The Xagħra Stone Circle ( mt, Iċ-Ċirku tax-Xagħra), also known as the Xagħra Hypogeum or the Brochtorff Circle, is a Neolithic funerary complex located in Xagħra, Gozo, Malta. It consists of a series of caves which were used to bury the dead ...

History

The Hypogeum was discovered by accident in 1902 when workers cutting cisterns for a new housing development broke through its roof. The workers tried to hide the temple at first, but eventually it was found. The study of the structure was first conducted by Manuel Magri, who directed the excavations on behalf of the Museums Committee, starting from November 1903. During the excavations, a portion of the contents of the Hypogeum, including

grave goods Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body. They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods may be classed as a ...

and human remains, were emptied out and discarded without being properly catalogued. To confound things further, Magri died in 1907 while conducting missionary work in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

and his report on the Hypogeum was lost. Excavation continued under Sir

Themistocles Zammit Sir Themistocles "Temi" Zammit (or Żammit; 30 September 1864 – 2 November 1935) was a Maltese archaeologist and historian, professor of chemistry, medical doctor, researcher and writer. He served as Rector (1920–26) of the Royal Unive ...

, who attempted to salvage what he could. Zammit began publishing a series of reports in 1910 and continued excavating until 1911, depositing his findings at the National Museum of Archaeology in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 ...

. The Hypogeum was first opened to visitors in 1908 while the excavations were ongoing. The four houses built on the site of the hypogeum were demolished to build the museum. Real attempts to preserve the site started in 1991 when it closed for a decade to arrange it for visits. In 2011, a more intensive program was launched to monitor the decay of the site.Stacey McKenna
Malta’s Hypogeum, One of the World’s Best Preserved Prehistoric Sites, Reopens to the Public
''Smithsonianmag.com'', 23 May 2017 The Hypogeum reopened in May 2017 after closing for a year to improve its environmental management system.

Description

Later archeological excavations indicate there was once a surface

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ar ...

that marked the entrance to the Hypogeum, with its subsequent destruction likely shielding the lower structure from discovery for thousands of years. Nothing remains of any potential enclosure that would have marked the entry to the Hypogeum. The underground structure may have originated from a natural cave, expanded over time by cutting directly into the rock with crude tools including

antlers Antlers are extensions of an animal's skull found in members of the Cervidae (deer) family. Antlers are a single structure composed of bone, cartilage, fibrous tissue, skin, nerves, and blood vessels. They are generally found only on ma ...

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

chert Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a c ...

and obsidian. Burial chambers in the upper level of the Hypogeum date from the early phases of the Maltese Temple Period, with lower chambers dating from later. The site may have first been used as early as 4000 BC, and was likely used until around 2500 BC, based on pottery sample analysis and examination of human remains. The temple structure uses a careful direction of light from the surface to penetrate into the lower chambers, with intricate patterns painted on portions of the ceiling with

red ocher Ochre ( ; , ), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced ...

, following motifs of spots, spirals and honeycombs. One of the main chambers, called "The Holy of Holies", appears to be oriented such that light from the

winter solstice The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winte ...

illuminated its facade from the original opening above. A

resonance Resonance describes the phenomenon of increased amplitude that occurs when the frequency of an applied periodic force (or a Fourier component of it) is equal or close to a natural frequency of the system on which it acts. When an oscilla ...

niche cut in the middle chamber, called the Oracle Room, was possibly designed to project

chant A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes ...

ing or drumming throughout the rest of the Hypogeum. 245

A broad range of objects were recovered from the site, including intricately decorated pottery vessels, stone and clay beads, shell buttons,

amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protect ...

s, axe-heads, and carved figures depicting humans and animals. The most notable discovery was the Sleeping Lady, a clay figure thought to represent a

mother goddess A mother goddess is a goddess who represents a personified deification of motherhood, fertility goddess, fertility, creation, destruction, or the earth goddess who embodies the bounty of the earth or nature. When equated with the earth or t ...

. The figures range from abstract to realistic in style, with major themes thought to be related to

veneration of the dead The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of ...

and

spiritual transformation Spiritual transformation involves a fundamental change in a person's sacred or spiritual life. Psychologists examine spiritual transformation within the context of an individual's ''meaning system'', Israela Silberman (2005)Religion as a mean ...

. Complex artistic techniques are also represented, as in the case of a single large pottery bowl which utilized both naturalistic and

stylized In the visual arts, style is a "...distinctive manner which permits the grouping of works into related categories" or "...any distinctive, and therefore recognizable, way in which an act is performed or an artifact made or ought to be performed a ...

themes, with one side realistically depicting bovines, pigs and goats, and the other side representing hatched animals hidden within complex geometric patterns. The remains of some 7,000 individuals were found in the Hypogeum, and though many of the bones were lost early in excavation, most of the skulls were deposited at the

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater num ...

. A small percentage of the skulls have an abnormal cranial elongation, similar to priestly skulls from Ancient Egypt, fueling speculation about the people who occupied the Hypogeum, and their practices and beliefs. Further excavations took place between 1990 and 1993 by Anthony Pace, Nathaniel Cutajar and Reuben Grima. The Hypogeum was then closed to visitors between 1991 and 2000 for restoration works; and since its reopening,

Heritage Malta Heritage Malta ( mt, Patrimonju Malta) is the Maltese national agency for museums, conservation practice and cultural heritage. Created by the Cultural Heritage Act, enacted in 2002, the national agency replaced the former Museums Department. Or ...

(the government body that looks after historical sites) allows entry to only 80 people per day, while the site's microclimate is strictly regulated. Scientific research on the Hypogeum is ongoing, and in 2014, an international team of scientists visited to study acoustics.

Structure

The Hypogeum is constructed entirely underground and consists of three superimposed levels hewn into soft

globigerina ''Globigerina'' () is a genus of planktonic Foraminifera, in the order of Rotaliida.Gl ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

, with its halls and chambers interconnected through a

labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...

ine series of steps, lintels and doorways. The upper level is thought to have been occupied first, with the middle and lower levels expanded and excavated later. Some of the middle chambers appear to share stylistic characteristics with the contemporaneous Megalithic Temples found across Malta.

Upper level

The last level is only one meter above the surface, and it is very different to tombs hidden in

, near

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populatio ...

. Some rooms are unnatural caves which were later naturally extended. This level contains many rooms, some of which were used for burial.UNESCO World Heritage List. "Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum." https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/130

Middle level

The second level is a later expansion, with the rock hoisted up to the surface by

Cyclopean Cyclopean masonry is a type of stonework found in Mycenaean architecture, built with massive limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal clearance between adjacent stones and with clay mortar or no use of mortar. The boulders typ ...

rigging. This level features several noted rooms: Malta 04 Hypogeum Hal Saflieni

*Main Chamber: This chamber is roughly circular and carved out from rock. A number of

trilithon A trilithon or trilith is a structure consisting of two large vertical stones (posts) supporting a third stone set horizontally across the top (lintel). It is commonly used in the context of megalithic monuments. The most famous trilithons are ...

entrances are represented, some blind, and others leading to another chamber. Most of the wall surface has received a red wash of

ochre Ochre ( ; , ), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced ...

. It was from this room that the Sleeping Lady was recovered. *

Oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...

Room: This is roughly rectangular and one of the smallest side chambers. It has the peculiarity of producing a powerful acoustic resonance from any vocalization made inside it. This room has an elaborately painted ceiling, consisting of spirals in red

with circular spots and spirals. *Decorated Room: Near the Oracle Room is another spacious hall, circular, with inward slanting smooth walls, richly decorated in a geometrical pattern of spirals. On the right side wall of the entrance is a

petrosomatoglyph A petrosomatoglyph is a supposed image of parts of a human or animal body in rock. They occur all over the world, often functioning as an important form of symbolism, used in religious and secular ceremonies, such as the crowning of kings. Some a ...

of a human hand carved into the rock (Agius). *Holy of Holies: Perhaps the central structure of the Hypogeum, this room appeares to be oriented toward the

, which would have illuminated its facade from the original surface opening. No bones were recovered from this room during excavations. The focal point is a porthole within a

, or structure consisting of two large vertical stones, which is in turn framed within a larger trilithon and yet another large trilithon. The

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the st ...

led ceiling has been taken as a hint that Malta's surface temples, now uncovered, could have been roofed similarly.

Lower level

The lower story contained no bones or offerings, only water. It strongly suggests storage, probably of

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legume ...

Museum

The Hypogeum and its museum are a popular attraction in Malta. The museum is open at 9am, but queuing for tickets starts around 8am."Last minute" 20 tickets for next day are always available from the

National War Museum The National War Museum is a museum dedicated to warfare, which is located inside Edinburgh Castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. Opened in 1933 in a converted 18th-century ordnance storehouse, the museum is run by the National Museums Scotland and ...

, located in

. Visitors are recommended to book months before, as limited people are allowed per day. The site closed in September 2016 for a €1.1 million renovation partly financed by a grant from Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. The renovated museum was inaugurated by Minister for Culture on 28 April 2017 and includes a new climate control system for the Hypogeum as well as an expanded visitor centre. The site reopened to visitors on 15 May 2017.

References

External links

*
Unesco World Heritage Site

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hypogeum Of Hal-Saflieni Megalithic Temples of Malta Prehistoric sites in Malta World Heritage Sites in Malta Paola, Malta 1902 archaeological discoveries National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Sites managed by Heritage Malta Neolithic sites of Europe Archaeological sites in Malta