Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni

From maltawiki.com

This article is about the underground temple complex of the Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni. See also the article about tourist attractions in Malta or the article about UNESCO world heritage sites in Malta.

The Hypogeum is tucked away on a fairly unremarkable street in Paola in the suburbs of Valletta. From the outside it looks just like another house, however what lies below is very impressive.

[edit] History

The site was discovered in 1902 by builders on a construction site for new houses. In 1905 the existence of the labyrith complex became public. The site was inscibed into the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1980.
In 1992 the site closed for renovation and reopened to the public again in 2000.

It was used both as a sanctuary and a cemetery. The bones of 7000 people have been found on the site.

[edit] Construction

The Hypogeum consists of halls, chambers and passages hewn out of the living rock and covering some 500m². The rock-cut chambers are of a diverse shapes and sizes.

The complex is buildt gradually over a long period of time. The complex consists of three layers – the upper level (3600-3300 BC), the middle level (3300-3000 BC), and the lower level (3150 -2500 BC).

The deepest room in the lower level of the complex is 10.6 metres under earth surface.

The underground complex displays examples of advanced pre-historic craftmanship randing from stone archades and detailed and smooth finishings.

[edit] Visiting the temple complex

The Hypogeum was closed for a number of years after the carbon dioxide breathed out by the huge visitor numbers did serious damage to the delicate limestone walls. Consequently, visitor numbers are restricted to 80 people per day, which get booked up well in advance.