WHO WERE THE BUILDERS? 



of rock. We frequently find the two side by side 

 and containing identically the same type of re- 

 mains. In South-East Sicily we have the hori- 

 zontal entrance in the tombs of the rocky gorge 

 of Pantalica, while the vertical shaft is the rule 

 in the tombs of the Plemmirio, only a few miles 

 distant. 



Two curious facts are noticeable with regard to 

 the distribution of the rock-hewn tombs. In the 

 first place they are all in the vicinity of the Medi- 

 terranean, and in the second some occur in the 

 megalithic area, while others do not. The examples 

 of Egypt, Cyprus, and Crete show that this type 

 of tomb flourished in the Eastern Mediterranean. 

 Was it from here that the type was introduced 

 into the megalithic area, or did the megalithic 

 people bring with them a tradition of building 

 rock-tombs totally distinct from that which is 

 represented by the tombs of Egypt, Cyprus, and 

 Crete ? 



The question is difficult to answer. One thing 

 alone is clear, that in certain places, such as Malta 

 and Sardinia, the megalithic people were not 

 averse to reproducing in the solid rock the forms 

 which they more usually erected with large stones 

 above ground. The finest instance of this is the 

 Halsaflieni hypogeum in Malta, where the solid 

 rock is hewn out with infinite care to imitate the 

 form and even the details of surface building. 



Similarly we have seen that both in Sardinia 



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