Flying low over Malta's bleached and arid landscape with its sparse vegetation, it is almost inconceivable to imagine that small-sized elephants and hippopotami once roamed the island's forests.
And yet, in Għar Dalam, a long and deep cave in the southeast of Malta, the evidence reveals itself in animal bones unearthed from the bottom-most layers, which date back to the Pleistocene era, some 500,000 years ago. Set around a peaceful pond and garden planted with indigenous plants and trees, the site and accompanying museum are of enormous paleontological and archaeological significance. Maltese history can be said to have been born in this cave. The earliest evidence of human presence on the islands, dating back to circa 7,400 years ago, was found buried under strata of sediment and volcanic ash.
Għar Dalam is one of four pre-historic sites featured in a Heritage Malta combo ticket that also allows access to Ħaġar Qim Park, Borg in-Nadur, and Tarxien Temples.
Located in close proximity to Għar Dalam, the neolithic site of Borg in-Nadur was excavated in the 1920s by eminent archaeologist Margaret Murray. Consisting of a four-apsed structure and fronted by a large enclosed area, Borg in-Nadur was in use during both the late Temple Period (3,150 – 2,500 BC) and the Bronze Age (2,400 – 700 BC).
Perched on a hilltop and commanding panoramic views of the islet of Filfla below, the temple of Ħaġar Qim, along with the other UNESCO listed 'Megalithic Temples of Malta', is one of the earliest groups of free-standing structures in the world. At sunrise, on the first day of summer, the sun's rays pass through an elliptical hole, hewn out of one of Ħaġar Qim's enormous megaliths and gradually illuminate a stone slab inside one of the Neolithic Temple's chambers. Although we may not know much about the origins of the people who built these awe-inspiring edifices, they must have been captivated by the movement of celestial bodies, aligning architectural features, and even whole buildings to mark their assage.p
The lower part of a colossal statue of a skirted figure stands sentinel to the dawn of civilisation in the highly decorated South Temple within the Tarxien Temples site. Discovered in 1913 by local farmers, the Tarxien Temples complex consists of four megalithic structures built between 3800 and 2200 BC. Evidence of arched roofing in the unique six-apsed Central Temple helps visitors to imagine how these temples might have looked when covered.
Travel down the annals of time from the Ice Age to the Stone Age with one of these Pre-historic Combo tickets. Valid for thirty days, the tickets may be purchased at all Heritage Malta museum and site shops or online: shop.heritagemalta.org
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