Volume 17-2

The Islandscape of the Megalithic Temple Structures of Prehistoric Malta

Tore Lomsddalen

Abstract

The exploration of the Mediterranean seascape goes back to the foragers of the early Holocene period around the ninth millennium BCE. However there is no secure evidence of human settlement in the Maltese Archipelago before the end of the sixth millennium BCE. Approximately one thousand years later, the unique style of megalithic structures that later became known as the Temple Period commenced. This period lasted about another millennium, then suddenly halted for no apparent reason, leaving no further trace than the monuments themselves. However, based on the extant material culture-artefacts, iconography and the orientation and location of the temples-there are indications that the Temple Period society may have participated in cosmology that integrates land, sea, and sky. Using thick description, this paper will look at the extent to which prehistoric Maltese cosmology consisted of land, sea and skyscape-probably the three main components of an Islanders' cosmology.