Malta Before History: The World’s Oldest Free-standing Stone Architecture

The small Mediterranean islands of Malta and Gozo, not only have a prehistory worth bothering about, but one can say that all the prehistory worth bothering about happened on the Maltese Islands. In the 5000 years that spanned the prehistoric habitation of Malta, the most important phase is surely that of the Temple Builders. Lord Colin Renfrew in his famous book, ‘Before Civilization’ wrote, “the Temples are evidence of a past society so remote that it echoes back beyond the age of hieroglyphics, inscriptions, and even oral tradition”. The riddle of these remains has provided many different theories and our fascination guarantees that the quest for answers will continue. Who were the first inhabitants of Malta? What do we know of their wonderful stone temples and burial hypogeal? Who were the Bronze Age people that replaced the Temple People? How can we date the remains of these prehistoric societies?