HAL TARXIEN PREHISTORIC COMPLEX

Its distinguishing feature is that it demonstrates the evolution of building techniques that is reflected in its architecture. It was excavated between 1915 and 1919, and it is thanks to the diligence of the excavation director, Sir Temi Zammit, that a wealth of information has been recovered from this site about the Neolithic of the Maltese Islands.

Access to the site is via the curved façade of the south building. Just before the entrance are some strange round stones which may have been used at the time of construction to transport and position the megalithic blocks chosen to erect the walls of the complex. The door to this building was restored in the 1950s, when a large number of megaliths were restored thanks to a grant from the Carnegie Association. Inside are carved friezes and animal reliefs, and a large statue of which only the feet and legs remain. Originally, this statue must have been almost 3 m high, making a very dramatic impression on anyone entering the building. In another part of the room is a stone block covered with spirals and surmounted by a niche. Animal bones were found in a hollow inside this block, which, along with other animal bones found in other parts of the complex, suggests that feasting took place in these buildings in the Neolithic period.

The south building leads to another building in the center of the complex. This is the largest, built later than the others. At its entrance are large blocks that originally housed a door or screen, beyond which is a central courtyard, in the middle of which is a fireplace. Fire was certainly important in these complexes, providing warmth and light, and probably used to cook shared food. In the inner chambers are large stones covered with beautiful spiral motifs. A small chamber also features reliefs of two cows or bulls and a sow with piglets.

An opening leads to the east building, beyond which the remains of the easternmost structure can be seen. The number of buildings, their size and the total extent of the complex, together with the discovery of other Neolithic remains in the vicinity of the Tarxien prehistoric complex, clearly show that the whole area was a center of activity in the Neolithic period.