Mnajdra Temples

Portals at Mnajdra. Photo Chris Booth.

General view of the Mnajdra Temples and the sea. Photo tuxophil.

Mnajdra is a fascinating archaeological site in a beautiful setting by the
Mediterranean Sea. Photo Scott Partee.

Entrance to an apse. Photo Scott Partee.

View over the temple enclosures. Photo peuplier.

Wall

Portal and oracle holes in the western temple. Photo peuplier.

Pitted stones around a portal. Photo Chris Brown.

Prehistoric Art

Prehistoric engraving of a temple in the middle temple. Photo Chris Booth.

Exterior

Entrance to a temple. Photo peuplier.

Under Tent

Ruins under the tent in June 2009. Photo Peter Binkley.

The Mnajdra Temples are three conjoined Neolithic temples on the southern coast of Malta. Dating from about 3000 BC, Mnajdra ("mna-ee-dra") is reminiscent of the even earlier complex at Ggantija on Gozo. Mnajdra is less than 1 km downhill from the Hagar Qim temple complex. The two complexes seem to have built at different times, and their relationship is not known.

History

The northern temple at Mnajdra was built c.3600-3200 BC, the middle temple was constructed 3150-2500 BC, and the southern temple dates from around 2000 BC.

What to See

Mnajdra occupies an isolated position on a rugged stretch of coast overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and the isle of Fifla. It is less than a kilometer from another important temple site, Hagar Qim.

Thanks to its good state of preservation and spectacular location, Mnajdra is the most atmospheric of Malta's many ancient temples - or at least it was before it was covered with a white tent in Summer 2009. The Mnajdra complex consists of three temples that radiate from an oval forecourt. The three temples adjoin one another but are not connected; each has its own entrance.

The first and oldest temple (northern/eastern) is a simple three-apsed structure dating from c.3600-3200 BC, not long after Ggantija was built. The small walls have been reconstructed but the small uprights, with their pitted decoration, are original.

The middle temple is the largest and was the last to be built, closer to 2000 BC. It was inserted between the other two and set at a higher level, and is unusual in having a great 3-meter high porthole slab (now broken) as its main entrance, with a second doorway beside it. To the left of the passage leading to the inner apses is an engraving of a temple facade.

The most impressive of the Mnajdra temples is the lower (southern/western) temple, with a largely intact façade and bench constructed sometime between 3150 and 2500 BC. Its corbelled walls indicated the temple was roofed (as at Ggantija), and the stone slabs are decorated with intriguing spiral carvings and dotted patterns. The porthole niche to the left is especially impressive, framed in a trilithon and two strangely tapered megaliths on either side.

In the right-hand apse of the lower temple is a porthole doorway at the top of a flight of steps giving access to a intramural chamber. An oracle hole opens from that chamber and another oracle hole in a recess communicates with the back and outside of the temple. Within the first side chamber is an altar on a double-hourglass shaped pillar.

The lower temple is astronomically aligned. On the equinoxes (March 20 and Sept. 22), the rays of the sun pass directly through the temple’s main doorway and light up the main axis. At the summer solstice (June 21), the sun lights up the edge of a megalith to the left of the doorway, connecting the first pair of chambers to the inner chambers. At the winter solstice (Dec. 21), the same effect can be seen on the corresponding megalith on the right hand side. The temples are opened to the public at sunrise on the spring equinox to allow visitors to view the impressive event.

Artifacts found at Mnajdra include stone and clay statuettes, shell and stone ornaments, flint tools and decorated earthenware. The lack of any metal objects is one of the indications of its Neolithic origin.

Quick Facts

Site Information

Names:	Mnajdra Temples
Location:	Qrendi, Malta Island, Malta
Category:	Temples; World Heritage Sites
Faith:	Prehistoric
Status:	ruins
Date:	3600-2000 BC
Architecture:	Neolithic
Features:	Astronomical Alignment; Spectacular Setting

Visitor Information

Coordinates:	35.826765° N, 14.4364° E (view on Google Maps)
Website:	www.heritagemalta.org/sites/sites.html
Hours:	Daily 9am-5pm (last admission 4:30pm). Closed Dec. 24, 25, 31, Jan 1, Good Friday
Cost:	Joint ticket with Hagar Qim: €9 adults; €6.50 concessions; €4 children (6-11 yrs)
Photography:	Permitted
Public transport:	Bus: 32, 35

Note: This information was accurate when published and we do our best to keep it updated, but details such as opening hours can change without notice. To avoid disappointment, please check with the site directly before making a special trip.

Location Map

Below is a location map and aerial view of Mnajdra Temples. Using the buttons on the left, zoom in for a closer look or zoom out to get your bearings. Click and drag the map to move around. For a larger view, see our Malta Map.

Article Sources

Article written by Holly Hayes with reference to the following sources:

Mnajdra Temples - Heritage Malta
Mnajdra - Megalithic Portal
Megalithic Temples of Malta - UNESCO World Heritage List
Plan of Mnajdra Temples - Planetware (Baedecker)

More Information

J.D. Evans, Malta (1959).
Marija Gimbutas, The Civilization of the Goddess: The World of Old Europe (1991).
Geoffrey Aquilina Ross, Blue Guide Malta and Gozo, 5th ed. (2000).
Merlin Stone, When God Was a Woman (1976).
Peg Streep, Sanctuaries of the Goddess: The Sacred Landscapes and Objects (1994).
Karen Tate, Sacred Places of Goddess (2006).

Article last updated: 08/03/2009.