Recently, the Old Temples Study Foundation (OTSF) sent along a copy of their documentary Legacy of a Lost Civilization, which describes the Neolithic stone monuments on Gozo and Malta, two islands in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.
Sleeping Lady of Malta. Photo by Glen Bowman
I had heard about the monuments before, but my (admitted fairly haphazard) search for recent information had turned up very little in academic circles. So, I jumped at the chance to learn something new.
While the video doesn't completely meet my best expectations for scientific-based documentaries, it does serve to whet my appetite, and perhaps yours, for information about this six-thousand-year-old collection of monumental architecture.
- Legacy of a Lost Civilization: The Old Temples of Malta and Gozo (video review)
- Legacy of a Lost Civilization, documentary from OTSF
- Malta National Museum of Archaeology, includes a virtual walkthrough of the museum
- The Gozo Project, Cambridge University
Comments
Re The Malta Neolithic Temples:
David Trump has published extensive academic works regarding these temples. He reorganised Maltese Prehistory and classified them inot specific periods based on the typologies of the pottery discovered in these sites as compared to sites elsewhere in the Mediterranean. Other academic contributions about thes temples come from J D Evans, A. Bonanno, N. Vella R. Grima, C. Renfrew, M. Gimbutas and others. Scientific publications are abundant even though the sites are more known to tourists that to archaeologists (non-Maltese) since Malta is not really given much weight internationally.
Just one other point: while the temple period is neolithic in Malta it coincides with the copper ageelsewhere. This Maltese civilisation and temple culture developed on its own, more or less insularly.
Thanks a bunch! I’m really looking forward to leaping into the literature….
Kris
I also suggest that you visit
http://www.cultel.com/en/Prehistory