466 



THE NATIONAL OLOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



A stone; age temple showing sacrificial tables in the foreground: MALTA 



Massive stones, some weighing several tons, are placed on end side by side, each being 

 joined to the next with great skill. On top of some of these are horizontal layers of flat 

 stones accurately mortised together (see text, page 457). 



similar compartments, the last being- situ- 

 ated almost directly under the serpent 

 pit. The innermost room of all has four 

 openings about a foot square leading to 

 four tiny caves, which might have been 

 used as places for the deposit of treasure. 

 This completes the itinerary of the 

 temple, which is so complex that one can 

 only speculate as to the use or signifi- 

 cance of its many extraordinary features. 



A MAUSOLEUM FOR 33,000 PERSONS 



In 1906 the work of exploration was 

 begun. Most of the rooms were found 

 to be half-filled with earth, human bones, 

 and broken pottery. It has been esti- 

 mated that the ruins contained the bones 

 of 33,000 persons, mostly adults. Prac- 

 tically all were found in the greatest dis- 

 order, and there had evidently been no 

 regular burial of a complete body. 



With regard to the original use of the 

 hypogeum, opinions vary. It may be that 

 it was a temple carved underground for 

 the use of spirits who had left this world, 

 providing them with the same type of 



temple as that in which they had been 

 accustomed to worship above ground ; or 

 it may have been a sacred college, wherein 

 the priesthood were initiated into the 

 mysterious beliefs of those days. 



CURIOUS FINDS AMONG THE BONES 



Whatever may have been the original 

 use, there is no doubt that it was used in 

 part as a burial place for the bones of 

 the dead after a previous burial above 

 ground. 



A large number of personal ornaments 

 and votive offerings were found mixed 

 with the bones, and these afford much 

 insight into prehistoric beliefs and cus- 

 toms. Besides the large stone female 

 figures already mentioned, several tiny 

 alabaster replicas were found. 



A small carving was also found of a 

 woman with a small head and large lower 

 figure, lying on her side asleep on a four- 

 legged couch. Her head is placed on a 

 shaped neck-rest. The figure is clad in 

 quite fashionable flounces and plaitings 

 and was evidently painted red. 



