Malta’s Megalithic Temples Make You Wonder: Did Giants Once Live Here?

With seven ancient megalithic temples on Malta, one has to wonder

by Carolyn Ray

It’s easy to believe that giants once lived in Malta when you visit the massive megalithic temples. Approaching these yellowish towering rocks, which are arranged in half-circles, squares and even figure eights, the only thought in my mind is ‘how on Earth did these get here?’ Now covered by enormous tents to prevent further erosion, these ancient complexes predate Galileo or Copernicus, demonstrating highly advanced societies who worshipped the sun, moon and stars.

But first, what’s a megalith? Until I came to Malta, I had never heard the term ‘megalith’. It is derived from two Greek words (megas=large and lithos=stone. Megalithic refers to ancient construction that used enormous stones of great size. Believe it or not, there are hundreds of megalithic structures in Europe oriented to the solstices and the equinoxes. Malta’s megalithic temples are recognized as some of the most ancient on Earth, described by the UNESCO World Heritage Sites committee as “unique architectural masterpieces”.

It’s easy to see why. Malta is the home of seven megalithic temples, dating back over 5,000 years, which are among the earliest free-standing stone buildings in the world. These include Ġgantija, Ħaġar Qim, Mnajdra, Skorba, Ta’ Ħaġrat and Tarxien. What happened to these civilizations isn’t clear, but what remains is an astonishing array of massive rocks, showing the sheer intelligence of humans thousands of years ago.

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