Santa Verna is a megalithic site in

Xagħra Xagħra ( mt, Ix-Xagħra) is an administrative unit of Malta, on the island of Gozo. It is one of the earliest inhabited parts of Gozo, being home to the Ġgantija megalithic temples which date back to the year 3600BC and the Xagħra Stone Circl ...

on the island of Gozo,

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 lies ...

. The site was originally occupied by a village and a megalithic temple. Although the temple is in poor condition now, in ancient times it was probably one of the major temples in the Maltese islands. The site takes its name from a chapel dedicated to

Saint Venera Saint Venera (''Veneranda, Veneria, Venerina, Parasceve'') is venerated as a Christian martyr of the 2nd century. Little is known of this saint. The date of her death is traditionally given as July 26, 143 AD. In the ''Catalogo Sanctorum'', com ...

that once stood close to the temple.

Site

Santa Verna was originally a prehistoric village, and the earliest pottery remains date back to around 5000 BC, during the

Għar Dalam phase The Għar Dalam phase, from approximately 5000 to 4100 BCE, is the first of the eleven phases of Maltese prehistory. It is named for Għar Dalam, a cave in the Wied id-Dalam, near Birżebbuġa Birżebbuġa (; sometimes shortened to B'Buġa) ...

. The temple itself was built in the following centuries and it had a trefoil shape, which was typical of the time. In its heyday, Santa Verna was probably an important temple, which rivaled other major temples such as

Ġgantija Ġgantija (, "Giantess") is a megalithic temple complex from the Neolithic on the Mediterranean island of Gozo. The Ġgantija temples are the earliest of the Megalithic Temples of Malta and are older than the pyramids of Egypt. Their makers er ...

Tarxien Tarxien ( mt, Ħal Tarxien) is a town in the South Eastern Region of Malta. Its population stood at 8583 in March 2014. The town is most notable for the Tarxien Temples, a megalithic temple complex which is among the oldest freestanding structu ...

and

Ħaġar Qim Ħaġar Qim (; "Standing/Worshipping Stones") is a megalithic temple complex found on the Mediterranean island of Malta, dating from the Ġgantija phase (3600-3200 BC). The Megalithic Temples of Malta are among the most ancient religious ...

. The only remains of the temple that survive today are three upright megaliths, another three horizontal blocks lining their eastern side, and the earth floor which makes it possible to see the temple's original outline.

Excavations

The megalithic remains at Santa Verna were found by Nikola Said, a worker at the Public Works Department. They were also noted by the archaeologist Manuel Magri in the early 20th century. The site was excavated in 1911 by

Thomas Ashby Thomas Ashby, (14 October 1874 – 15 May 1931) was a British archaeologist. Family He was the only child of Thomas Ashby (1851–1906), and his wife, Rose Emma, daughter of Apsley Smith. His father belonged to the well-known Quaker family ...

and R. N. Bradley. During the excavations, two complete skeletons and several incomplete ones were found, including one of a child. Many smaller artifacts were also found during the excavations. The remains were included on the Antiquities List of 1925. Another excavation was made in 1961 by David H. Trump, when the remains of the village that predates the temple were found. More extensive excavations funded by the European Research Council in 2015 revealed the five-apsed plan of the temple during the Ġgantija phase, further evidence of the earlier settlement, and recovered samples of ancient animal bones, wheat, barley and legumes.

References

{{European megaliths Megalithic Temples of Malta Neolithic sites Xagħra