Mnajdra temple

Dear Friends
Another very significant Megalithic temple in the (pre)history of Malta is the temple on the Mnajdra plain.
A full explanation is given in many texts and websites such as
http://heritagemalta.org/museums-sites/mnajdra-temples.

The temple dates back similarly to Ħaġar Qim, thus being around 5500 years old, pre-dating Stonehenge and the pyramids, although smaller in size.

Mnajdra temple has particular astronomical significance in that possible alignments with the rising positions of the sun on the solstices and the equinoxes have been discovered. In fact the temple is often described as being a calendar in stone.  This diagram shows how the rising position of the sun on these dates is identified inside the temple.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Temple_solaire_Mnajdra.jpg

The temple is also on the UNESCO list and recently another tent was set up to protect this temple.  These structures were designed so as to blend with the surroundings as much as possible but the debate is on whether the tents have over-powered the temples themselves.  During the design and construction of the tent particular attention was paid so as to maintain the sightlines towards the rising position of the sun and avoid obstructions in these directions.

The location of both temples is on a very exposed plateau, close to the sea with strong westerly winds - proof of this being the last image showing how the pine tree (Pinus halepensis) has been skewed over to the leeward side of the wind direction.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/132

 Saħħa,
Alexei