The Ta' Ħaġrat () temples in
Mġarr
Mġarr (), formerly known as ''Mgiarro'', is a village in the Northern Region of Malta. Mġarr is a rural village, isolated from nearby towns and cities. Mġarr lies west of Mosta and is surrounded by farmland and vineyards. Many of the 4,840 ...
,
Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
are recognized as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
, along with several other
Megalithic temples. They are amongst the world's oldest
religious sites. The larger Ta' Ħaġrat
temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
dates from the
Ä gantija phase
Ä gantija (; "place of giants") is a megalithic temple complex from the Neolithic era (–2500 BC), on the Mediterranean island of Gozo in Malta. The Ä gantija temples are the earliest of the Megalithic Temples of Malta and are older than the ...
(3600–3200 BC);
the smaller temple is dated to the
Saflieni phase
The Saflieni phase is one of the eleven phases of Maltese prehistory, the fourth of five in the middle or Temple period. It is named for the Ħal-Saflieni Hypogeum, an underground temple complex now recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNE ...
(3300–3000 BC).
Location
Ta' Ħaġrat is on the eastern outskirts of the village of
Mġarr
Mġarr (), formerly known as ''Mgiarro'', is a village in the Northern Region of Malta. Mġarr is a rural village, isolated from nearby towns and cities. Mġarr lies west of Mosta and is surrounded by farmland and vineyards. Many of the 4,840 ...
, roughly one kilometer from the
Ta' Skorba temples, excavated in 1963.
Characteristics of the Ta' Ħaġrat façade resemble those in the Ta' Skorba complex.
Temple complex
The excavation of pottery deposits shows that a village stood on the site and predates the temples themselves. This early pottery is dated to the
Mġarr phase (3800-3600 BC).
Ta' Ħaġrat is built out of
lower coralline limestone, the oldest exposed rock in the Maltese Islands. The complex contains two adjacent temples.
The smaller temple abuts the major one on the northern side.
The two parts are less regularly planned and smaller in size than many of the other
neolithic temples in Malta.
Unlike other
megalithic
A megalith is a large Rock (geology), stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging ...
temples in Malta no decorated blocks were discovered; however a number of artifacts were found. Perhaps most intriguing is a scale model of a temple,
sculpted in
globigerina limestone.
The model is roofed and shows the typical structure of a Maltese temple including a
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 a ...
façade, narrow-broad walling technique and upper layers of horizontal
corbel
In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, bearing weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in t ...
ling.
Major temple
The
Ä gantija phase
Ä gantija (; "place of giants") is a megalithic temple complex from the Neolithic era (–2500 BC), on the Mediterranean island of Gozo in Malta. The Ä gantija temples are the earliest of the Megalithic Temples of Malta and are older than the ...
temple is typically
trefoil
A trefoil () is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings, used in architecture, Pagan and Christian symbolism, among other areas. The term is also applied to other symbols with a threefold shape. A similar shape with f ...
, with a concave façade opening onto a spacious semicircular forecourt. The façade contains a monumental doorway in the center and a bench at its base.
Two steps lead up to the main entrance and a corridor flanked by upright
megalith
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging geographically f ...
s of coralline limestone.
The corridor leads into a central torba (a cement-like material) court, radiating three semi-circular chambers. These were partially walled off at some time in the Saflieni phase; pottery shards were recovered from the internal packing of this wall. The apses are constructed with roughly-hewn stone walls and have a rock floor. Corbelling visible on the walls of the apses suggest that the temple was roofed.
A small, sculptured
model of a temple carved from globigerina limestone was discovered here in 1923.
Minor temple
The
Saflieni phase
The Saflieni phase is one of the eleven phases of Maltese prehistory, the fourth of five in the middle or Temple period. It is named for the Ħal-Saflieni Hypogeum, an underground temple complex now recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNE ...
temple rests to the north and is six and a half meters long. It is entered through the eastern apse of the larger temple. Smaller stones have been used in its construction
and it exhibits irregularities in design considered
archaic or
provincial
Provincial may refer to:
Government & Administration
* Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country
* Provincial city (disambiguation)
* Provincial minister (disambiguation)
* Provincial Secretary, a position in Canad ...
.
Excavation
The site was excavated between 1923 and 1926 by Sir
Temi Zammit
Sir Themistocles "Temi" Zammit (or Å»ammit; 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 Univers ...
, then Director of Museums. The site was again excavated by
John Davies Evans
John Davies Evans (22 January 1925 – 4 July 2011) was an English archaeologist and academic known for his research into the prehistory of the Mediterranean, and especially the prehistoric cultures of Malta. He was a Director of the Institute ...
in 1954, and British archaeologist
David H. Trump accurately dated the complex in the 1961 excavation.
The temple was included on the Antiquities List of 1925.
Restoration
Parts of the façade and doorway were reconstructed in 1937.
See also
*
List of megalithic sites
This is a list of monoliths organized according to the size of the largest block of stone on the site. A monolith is a large stone which has been used to build a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. In this list at l ...
References
External links
National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ta' Hagrat Temple
World Heritage Sites in Malta
Megalithic Temples of Malta
Neolithic sites
Mġarr
National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
Sites managed by Heritage Malta