Mnajdra
Stone Age solar temple is aligned with the sun on each equinox and solstice
Category Astounding Timepieces, Instruments of Science, Retro-Tech, Curious Places of Worship, Incredible Ruins
Mnajdra ("mna-ee-dra") is a Neolithic temple complex on the southern coast of Malta, less than a kilometer from the famous Hagar Qim temple.
Built around the fourth millennium BCE, Mnajdra is among the world's most ancient religious sites. It is also the site of an astronomically aligned solar temple, positioned so that the sun's light illuminates the structure in special ways on equinoxes and solstices.
At sunrise on the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, when the earth is tilted neither away nor towards the sun, brilliant rays of sunlight penetrate the door of Mnajdra's lower temple and light up the building's main axis. And on the summer and winter solstices, when the earth's spin axis is tilted the farthest amount towards and away from the sun, respectively, the sun's beams fall directly on the edges of megaliths to the right and left of the temple's central passage.
According to archaeologists, Mnajdra also served as the backdrop for ceremonial sacrifice. This notion is evidenced by the flint knives, restraining ropes, and animal remains found at the site. The presence of stone benches and tables also suggests the temple may have had a sort of medical function, serving as a center for healing and promoting fertility.
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- Hours Daily 9am-5pm (last admission 4:30pm). Closed Dec. 24, 25, 31, Jan 1, Good Friday The temples are opened to the public at sunrise on the spring equinox to allow visitors to witness the astronomical alignment.
- Website http://www.heritagemalta.org/sites/sites.html
- Address Qrendi, QRD 2502, Malta
- Cost Joint ticket with Hagar Qim: €9 adults; €6.50 concessions; €4 children (6-11 yrs)
Bus: 32, 35
Comments
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A note to visitors: as of 2009, the Mnajdra temple has been covered with a protective tent. Though the tent may seem to take away from the site's original beauty, it shades the complex and thus makes the solar alignments even more dramatic. A photo of the Mnajdra tent can be seen<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Mnajdra_tent_2009_06_27.jpg">here</a>
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Malta has some amazing prehistoric temples and sites, well worth a visit, but be warned, most of the roads in Malta are awful and they don't seem to believe in signposts much either !!. Luckily the people are very friendly and will help you out with directions where they can.
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