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The Brochtorff Stone circle, at Xaghra, Malta
The great Neolithic temples on Malta are among the oldest temples in the world, most of them erected before even the pyramids were built. Yet what were they and how did they work? The most important and illuminating excavations of this period were those that took place at the Brochtorff’s stone circle, at Xaghra, from 1987-1994.
To understand the background to these excavations, it is worthwhile to look briefly at the modern history of Malta. From 1971 to 1984, the fiery and controversial Dom Mintoff was Prime Minister: he did not like the professional classes, and the professional classes did not like him. And the archaeologists simply concentrated on surviving. Following a conference in 1985, an invitation was made to Cambridge scholars to initiate a new joint phase of fieldwork. By the time Mintoff’s party had lost power in 1987, the archaeologists had breathed a sigh of relief and decided to celebrate by carrying out a big, spectacular excavation. Where was this to be?
On Malta there are two basic typ
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