Historical places in Malta

Malta has a rich history, in both recent and pre-historical times. Recent history begins with written texts, which start around the 9th century with the entry of the Arabs in Malta. But Malta had inhabitants a long time before that, starting 7,000 years ago with the Temple Builders.

Qrendi Temples

Ggantija Temples

The temples were used for thousands of years by both the local population, that numbered around 10,000 at the time, as well as most of the Mediterranean. They were used for religious celebrations that involved animal sacrifice, and also for grain storage. They all had roofs when they were first built and were richly decorated on the inside and outside with coloured plaster. Nowadays, the temples in the best condition still have pitting on the rock surface, showing where decoration was attached.

The temples, that used to number close to 250 according to archeological information, were built by the Temple Builders, who disappeared shortly before 1,000 B.C. The Maltese population is not descended from them.

Throughout Maltese history many temples were dismantled by the weather and by local farmers who used the stone as building material for their farmhouses and border rubble walls.