MALTa: THE HALTING PLACE OF NATIONS 



465 



What wonderful store of archaeological 

 wealth is perhaps here awaiting that 

 opening ! 



The walls along the right of this pas- 

 sage are full of drill-holes an inch or less 

 in diameter. This shows the method of 

 excavation employed. Holes were drilled 

 with flint points and the intermediate 

 portions chipped away with stone ham- 

 mers or chisels, several fine specimens of 

 which were found. 



Continuing along this passage, we come 

 to another room, into which we enter 

 with a sudden drop of a yard. Looking 

 through the entrance doorway, the wall 

 on the left appears quite straight at first, 

 curving round at the end, while the right 

 wall is very much sloped. 



Descending some modern stone steps, 

 a round recess on the left is seen. In 

 this place a person could stand without 

 being observed by any one approaching 

 along the passage, while a spy-hole is 

 provided for the use of the occupant of 

 the recess. Two holes are also bored in 

 the walls of the recess to spy into the 

 adjoining cave. 



AN ORACLE) CAVE AND A SOUND-MAGNIFY- 

 ING CHAMBER 



Passing the recess, we come to a square 

 entrance into a small round cave a yard 

 or two in diameter. Possibly the oracle 

 was kept here. A little farther in the 

 cave, at about the level of a man's mouth, 

 is a hemispherical hole in the side wall 

 about two feet in diameter. Here it was 

 noticed only a few months ago that any 

 word spoken into this place was magni- 

 fied a hundred-fold and audible through- 

 out the entire underground structure. 



A curved projection is specially carved 

 out of the back of the cave near this hole 

 and acts as a sounding-board, showing 

 that the designers had a good practical 

 knowledge of sound-wave motion. The 

 impression upon the credulous can be 

 imagined when the oracle spoke and the 

 words came thundering forth through 

 the dark and mysterious places with 

 terrifying impressiveness. 



Before leaving the oracle room, special 

 notice must be taken of the wonderful 

 ceiling paintings, which are the finest in 

 the temple. Possibly the design of the 

 spirals and disks may have some mystic 



meaning in connection with the passing 

 of the human soul through various cycles. 



THE PIT OF SERPENTS? 



Proceeding to the next room, a dis- 

 tant view of the Holy of Holies is ob- 

 tained. This anteroom has several curi- 

 ous features. The roof is supported — 

 quite unnecessarily for structural re- 

 quirements — by two menhirs differing in 

 design. The one to the right is similar to 

 the sacred pillars at Hagar Kim (see page 

 457) and to the high altar of Tarxien 

 (see page 477 ) ; 



On the left is a mysterious pit. The 

 low stone wall on the left is grooved to 

 receive an upper stone, thus increasing 

 its height. The pit is shaped like a fun- 

 nel, with a curious slip-way worn out just 

 below the hole in the opposite wall which 

 communicates with the main hall. 



After sloping downward and inward, 

 the pit widens considerably and is suffi- 

 ciently deep to prevent even a tall man 

 from climbing out. It has been thought 

 that sacred serpents were kept in this pit, 

 the curving sides of which would pre- 

 vent their escape. Possibly after the 

 serpent had been lifted up, as was done 

 by Moses in the wilderness, and due wor- 

 ship made, it would be returned to its 

 lair through the hole in the wall. The 

 larger entrance on the opposite side 

 would permit of a man or woman being 

 cast among the serpents to be stung to 

 death.* 



Passing to the right of the pillar and 

 then sharply turning to the left, we de- 

 scend a very finely worked series of seven 

 steps into the lowest and innermost 

 rooms. These steps are erected on the 

 lintel of a huge dolmen. Opposite the 

 lowest step and isolated by a deep moat- 

 like trench is a small inner cave wherein 

 a priest or vestal might have sat and 

 communed. 



There are no steps to this small room 

 and it is difficult to reach. On its right 

 hand is a small spy-hole, through which 

 all persons at work in the moat can be 

 seen. Adjoining the moat and divided 

 only by another doorway are several 



* See also an account of the serpent pits in 

 the temples of the Incas, in "The Wonderland 

 of Peru," by Hiram Bingham, National Geo- 

 graphic Magazine, April, 1913. 



