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Tarxien
Tarxien is the most complex of all of the Maltese
temples but, unfortunately, it is also one of
the most badly disturbed. Today it is surrounded
by the suburbs of Valletta but at the time of
its discovery in the early years of the twentieth
century, the site was agricultural land and its
existence became known when local farmers reported
ploughing up worked stone. By that time the land
had been under cultivation for thousands of years,
however, and most of the superstructure had long
since been removed. Much of what is seen today
has been reconstructed.
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| Excavations
were conducted by Themistocles Zammit beginning
in 1915 and continuing for the better part
of another four years. In the course of
them he uncovered the remains of four temples—Tarxien
South, Tarxien Central, Tarxien East and
Tarxien Far East—along with a number
of smaller structures. The first thing he
noted was an Early Bronze Age cemetery that
cut into the upper fill of much of the South
Temple and part of the Central Temple. The
area was pockmarked with burial pits and
hollows containing cremated burials accompanied
by bronze blades and fine pottery. It is
thought that the scorch marks found on many
of the surviving megaliths came from their
funeral pyres.
Although
there are traces of an earlier occupation
belonging to the Zebbug phase, the temples
were in use |
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from
about 3500-2500 BC. The Far East Temple was the
first to be built, in the Ggantija phase, while
the South and East Temples wereadded in the Tarxien.
The main axis of both runs NNE-SSW. Finally, the
Central Temple, running on an entirely different
axis (ENE-WSW) was inserted between the latter two
later in the same period.
Tarxien South
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Tarxien
South was built as a rather typical four-apse
temple but underwent some major renovations
later on. The entrance was at the middle
of a curved façade and looked onto
a spacious torba forecourt that
extended for at least 30 metres. Unfortunately,
the original stones of the façade
have been almost entirely removed and what
is visible today is mainly reconstruction.
At the eastern end of the façade
was what Evans calls a ‘divining block,’
a slab of stone about 3 metres square, screened
on three sides by uprights (now reduced
to stumps). There are five conical holes
of various sizes on the upper surface that
were undoubtedly some sort of cult installation
and it is most likely a small shrine of
some sort. The poorly preserved remains
of a similar installation was found at the
western end of the arc. |
Tarxien
South. The entrance with its large threshold
slab and tethering block is on the left and
the small shrine is at the right-hand end of
the facade.
A large semi-circular threshold led to a paved
passageway to the interior. Animal sacrifice was
undoubtedly part of the proceedings and there
was a roundish tethering block right in front
of the entrance. It was
about 1 metre in diameter that had a large V-perforation
through which the rope was passed. The passage
continued right through to the main altar at the
back of the temple, passing two pairs of spacious
apses with plenty of evidence of ritual activity
along the way.
Tarxien
South. 2 views of Apse 2 showing the statue and
altar
The
two outer apses contained most of the artwork
in the temple (click on the link). The
one on the right as you enter [2] is
marked off by a line of low blocks, carved with
elaborate spiral relief patterns. Within was a
larger-than-life statue and an unusual, highly
decorated altar. The statue is badly damaged—possibly
through ploughing but it may have been deliberately
destroyed during the Bronze Age. Only part of
the lower half survives, a pair of legs with enormously
swollen calves and the hem of a pleated skirt,
but the original must have stood well over 2 metres
high. The base of the statue has a frieze of what
appear to be eggs, so there is a lot of symbolic
potential.
The
altar faces the entrance of the temple and consists
of a hollow block of stone with a small window-like
niche above. The front of the altar block is carved
with two rows of running spirals small thorn-like
projections, giving them a vegetal appearance.
The motif is found throughout the temple, marking
the important divisions—the interiors of
the apses or the main altar at the far end of
the main passage. One of the spirals on the front
had been hollowed out to form a fair-sized cavity.
The plug was carved to match the rest of the design.
When Zammit removed the plug he found a number
of objects, including bones of sheep and cattle
as well as a few marine shells. There was a bone
spatula along with thirteen flint knives and some
potsherds. Of special note was a finely crafted
flint knife, the last item to be placed insice
inside before the alter was sealed.
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Tarxien
South. Altar from Apse 2 |
Tarxien
South. Statue of Goddess from Apse 2 |
The
left-hand outer apse [3] is also marked off by blocks
of stone decorated with spiral motifs—in this
case, a pair of low blocks, each about 50 cm. high,
90 cm. wide and 2 metres long. They angle slightly
outwards from a semicircular threshold, perhaps
imitating the curved façade of the temple.
A
paved walkway is marked by upright slabs bearing
graffiti that appears to represent ships, probably
dating to the Neolithic (although their scorched
tops suggests they were still visible during the
Bronze Age). Further along were low slabs with a
variety of different relief patterns carved onto
them—including a pair with some very naturalistic
animal friezes. The longest shows two lines of goats
with very distinctive horns, eleven in each. The
other has a line of four similar animals but with
a pig and a ram in the lead. Presumably they were
all on their way to be sacrificed.
The next pair of apses are far from symmetrical
and the right-hand one [7] in particular had been
radically modified to turn it into a passage leading
directly into Tarxien Central when that temple
was squeezed in. The opposite apse [5] contained
upright slabs and a couple of niches, one of which
contained the bones and horns from cattle and
either sheep or goats. At the very back of the
temple was an elaborate niche sitting on top of
a platform 60 cm high. The front of the platform
was a large slab of stone about 3 metres long,
decorated by two rows of running spirals. This
was undoubtedly the main altar of the temple.
Tarxien
South. Main Altar
Tarxien Central
The entrance to the intrusive central temple was
through Room 7 of Tarxien South, effectively turning
the earlier temple into an elaborate set of antechambers.
Since most of the masonry of the latter temple
had been removed, it is even possible that the
building was totally remodelled at the time. On
the right-hand side of the connecting passage
was a porthole carved out of a single stone that
led to a small intramural space [8], which contained
some late Neolithic pottery and animal bones.
At the end of the passage Zammit found a pair
of bar holes for a screen or door, to preserve
the sanctity of the space beyond.
Tarxien
Central. View from Apse 9 to the Rear Niche
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Tarxien
Central is a unique example of a six-apse
temple, the complex of the type. The additional
outer apses were separated from the rest
of the temple by a low barrier about 62
cm high, carved with a pair of plain spirals
(above). The two more public apses
[10 & 12] seem to have served as a sort
of lobby and were paved with
thick slabs of stone rather than the more
usual torba. There was a hearth just in
front of a little foyer [9] marking the
passage to the rest of the building.The
apses are marked off by large upright slabs
projecting from the walls on either side
of the doorways.
There
are a pair of large trilithon structures
in Apse 10—one was most likely a niche
but the other opened into the small space
[11] with a number of small niches containing
cattle horns. A complementary space [13]
was located on the other side of the entrance,
opening off Apse 12. Zammit found the broken
remains of a slab built niche with a pair
of stone shelves. In front of the niche
he found two horn cores, each about 1 metre
long. The rear of the chamber was made up
of two large stone slabs, one of which was
pierced by a square hole at ground level.
Within the space behind the stone was a
deposit of animal bones. Above the opening
was the carved relief of a bull—unfortunately
badly damaged by later activity. There is
a better preserved example along with a
carving of a sow nursing a line of piglets
on the stone next to it. |
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Tarxien
Central. Relief slab in Apse 15.
One
interesting feature is what looks like a
staircase in the angle between Tarxien Central
and Tarxien East. The first six steps are
individual blocks of stone while the last
two were carved out of a single block. The
steps are rather steep but it seems pretty
clear that they were intended to lead to
an upper level of Tarxien Central or, more
probably, to the roof. |
Beyond
the carved barrier the passage leads to
another pair of apses [15 & 16] separated
by a small court [14] with a circular hearth.
The walls of the two apses are made of neatly
trimmed uprights and are separated from
the court by a pair of particularly well-carved
stone screens. The design is a symmetrical
arrangement of four spirals around a central
circle, all of it framed within a rectangular
border. The open spaces between the raised
elements has been filled with hundreds of
tiny pits—a masterpiece of prehistoric
design.
At
the end of the passage is a rather large
niche flanked by a pair of apses. The left
hand niche [18] is substantially intact
and has a nicely made niche, with the usual
deposit of animal bones. Zammit believed
he found evidence to suggest the room was
plastered on the interior, possibly even
painted, but this is hotly disputed by other
scholars as is his suggestion that it may
have had an arched ceiling. The other apse
[19] was almost totally obliterated by later
activity, both in the Neolithic and afterwards,
and what is seen today is a modern reconstruction.
Recent research suggests that the room may
have been a corridor linking this building
to Tarxien East much as Room 7 connects
it with Tarxien Central.
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Tarxien East
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Tarxien
East. Oracle Hole |
The
eastern temple also shows evidence of having
been substantially modified—both by
the construction of Tarxien Central as well
as by Roman activity on the site. This is
most apparent in Apse 23, which looks very
deformed. In all likelihood this had to do
with the construction of a passage between
the two buildings as suggested above. Unlike
its neighbours, no reliefs nor statuary in
Tarxien East. There are a number of ‘oracle-holes,’
however. These are low to the floor and funnel-shaped,
like a megaphone. In addition, there are a
number of smaller structures attached to the
east side of the building, including one with
a porthole door that opened onto a small,
squarish courtyard [26]. |
Tarxien Far East
On the other side of the courtyard are the remains
of Tarxien Far East, the earliest temple on the
site. Only half of the building had survived the
millennia but there was enough to show that it
had five apses and is typologically similar to
others, such as Skorba, that date to the Ggantija
Phase. The remaining foundations show that the
building was made out of smaller, more manageable
blocks of stone instead of the megalithic orthostats
of the later temples. |
