< back to menu

First Settlers

Malta has been inhabited since about 5200 BC. The first inhabitants originated from Sicily, which lies about 60 miles north of Malta - a distance that could be crossed even in prehistoric times. They were nomadic hunters and fishermen and used primitive agricultural methods.

Neolithic Era

After new immigants arrived in Malta, the so-called Temple Culture developed around 4000 BC, long before the pyramids were constructed. The Ggantija temples on Gozo were the first, followed by Mnajdra and Hagar Qim on Malta. We visited all three of these temples, and were deeply impressed by the massive slabs of rock, not unlike at Stonehenge, and the carefully designed "shamrock" constructions, as well as the elaborate ornamentation on the huge temples, made with simple stone tools. The theory that the temples represented the curves of a female body for the worship of fertility goddesses seemed plausible. The many statuettes of "fat goddeses" support this theory.

Apart from temples, several burial complexes have been discovered, like the huge Hypogeum which held at least 7,000 bodies. Close by, three more temples were found, decorated with sophisticated carvings. No one really knows why the civilization of these temple builders disappeared abruptly about 2500 BC.

Bronze Age

Soon new settlers arived from southern Italy and Sicily. They also constructed megalithic graves markers like dolmen, but used metallic toods and built fortified villages. The mysterious "cart ruts" found on both Malta and Gozo probably originated in this era. These ruts run deep in hard rock and seem to lead pointlessly up hills or plunge over the edge of cliffs. One explanation is that carts carrying valuable dirt for agriculture in the hills wore the ruts. Some of us saw "Clapham Junction" where sets of the ruts seem to meet and cross, testifying to an elaborate transport system.

Daniela Röcher