Mnajdra Megalithic Temple Complex. The History, Excavations & Preservation. Qrendi, Malta.

#Mnajdra #MnajdraTemples #NeolithicMalta

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00:00 Opening
00:47 Malta
01:28 History of Malta
02:22 Temple Period Malta
04:09 Mnajdra Megalithic Temple Complex
05:43 East Temple
06:15 Calendar Stone
07:48 South Temple
09:23 North Temple
10:02 Excavations
10:41 The state of the Temples
11:03 Vandalism of the Temples
11:54 Canopy construction
13:18 The vandalism and destruction in County Sligo Ireland

Malta was first inhabited by Neolithic farmers in 5900 BCE on the Island of Gozo, their agricultural methods depleted the soil of its nutrition until the Islands became uninhabitable.
Around 3850 BCE the islands were repopulated by a civilization, originating from Sicily, that eventually build the Megalithic temples which today are among the oldest surviving buildings in the entire world.

The Temple period in Malta has two distinct phases.
The first phase is the Ggantija period which started in 3600 BCE and ended in 3000 BCE.
The second phase is known as the Tarxien period which started in 3000 BCE and ended around 2500 BCE.

Megalithic monuments tell many stories, the ones that intrigue us most are those that tell us about their beginnings, their construction, their use and development in prehistory.
However, they provide evidence for a different story as well, which starts when they were discovered in modern times.
The monuments are not just studied and analysed by scholars who are trying to identify their origins, but they are restored and reconstructed as well.
Thus undergoing physical changes that aren’t always immediately evident.
Numerous restoration and conservation interventions have taken place at Mnajdra and it’s neighbouring Temple complex named Hagar Qim.

The Mnajdra temple complex is located on the southern cliffs of the island of Malta near the town of Qrendi.
It’s situated in Hagar Qim and Mnajdra Archaeological Park, to enter the park you buy a ticket.

The temple complex is made out of 2 types of limestones, the harder Lower Coralline limestone on the exterior walls and the softer Globigerina limestone on the interior walls.
It’s widely believed that construction at the Mnajdra complex started with the Eastern Temple, otherwise known as the upper temple between 3600 and 3200 BCE during the Ggantija period.
It’s a three-apsed building, looking the most like a clover.
The original pillar stones have been decorated with pit marks drilled in horizontal rows of the surface, they are still visible today.

Somewhere between 3150 and 2500 BCE in the Tarxien period construction began at the Southern temple, otherwise known as the lower temple.
This is the most impressive temple of the complex, with its largely intact facade and benches.
Which is astronomically aligned with the equinoxes of March 20th and September 22nd as the rays of the sun pass through the main doorway to illuminate the inner doorway.
Its aligned with bot the summer and winter solstices as well, on June 21st and December 21st.
At the summer solstice the sun lights up the edge of a megalith to the left of the doorway, reaching the inner chamber and at the winter solstice the same effect can be seen on the corresponding megalith on the right hand side.
The temples are opened to visitors at the sunrise of the equinoxes and solstices to allow them to witness this impressive event.

The largest temple is the North temple, also known as the middle temple.
It was the last to be built as construction took place somewhere between 2500 and 2000 BCE.
It was built between the other two temples and set on a higher elevation. It was unusual in having a 3 meter high porthole slab as its main entrance with a second doorway behind it.
Unfortunately the porthole slab is now broken.



Music:
Adrian von Ziegler – Relaxing Roman Music Aetas Romana
   • Relaxing Roman Music - Aetas Romana  
Sources:
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/ma...
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/132
https://www.wondermondo.com/mnajdra/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mnajdra
Ħagar_Qim_and_Mnajdra_temples_conservation_and_interpretation_project.pdf
Footage:
   • Malta Cliffs, Waters and Nesting Seab...  
   • MALTA- ANCIENT TEMPLES of HAGAR QIM a...  
   • Mnajdra Temples  
   • The Megalithic Temples of Malta  
   • Malta | Heritage Sites of Malta | Wor...  
   • Filfla island the gem in the South of...  
   • Coastline of Malta, Mnajdra.  
   • no place like MALTA  

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