Tarxien Temples

Tarxien Neolitic Period

The Tarxien temples were built between 3600 and 2500 BC.

In this prehistoric period, the temples were used regularly for rituals including animal sacrifice, as attested by the discovery of a flint blade, a long bone spatula, animal bones, and seashells within a carved altar.

In the Bronze Age (2400-1500 BC), Tarxien was reused as a cremation cemetery.

The site lie hidden for centuries until its discovery in 1914, when farmers struck large stone blocks while ploughing a field. Sir Temistocles Zammit, Malta’s first director of museums, excavated the site in 1915-17.