So Elon Musk may be busy throwing a tantrum, but Twitter is not quite dead yet and we have stuff to do and #archaeology to explore. So, part 4 (part 3 here if you missed it:
https://twitter.com/I_VG/status/1593197456149610496?s=20&t=CzDSUtOKff_48s9lKUvHLw) #Malta
As above, so below I said last time. Let's poke around underground, for big buildings are not just above-ground. Welcome to the #Saflieni hypogeum, one of the best sites in the world. Yes, I said it and it's true.
@googlearts has a handy tour artsandculture.google.com/partner/hal-sa… but in all honesty you just need to visit. Tickets are via @heritagemalta & they sell out fast & with good reason. Book your flight to #Malta and these tickets at the same time.
Where to begin? It's breath-taking. You know all the megalithic buildings we saw yesterday? Imagine doing the same but deep underground - 3 whole levels in fact. Take a look at the alt-text for a description. The Holy of Holies is a silly term yes. 
NO it did not appear out of nowhere - in fact it took an awfully long time to reach its final form. The lowest level is now at a depth of c. 11m below current road surface. The upper level was likely old caverns that were enlarged (more on this later). All in, c 500 sq m.
Access between levels is neither simple nor straightforward. Like above ground temples, this is a place of thresholds and different spaces - light, dark, narrow, wide - you get a very broad range of sensations.
The upper level is the oldest part and was likely used in an earlier phase... we find the same in Gozo at the Xagħra Circle. Also a lot of the above ground temples had traces of activity from the previous phase (I hope I can post about this tomorrow).
So you start with a large rock-cut hollow. To the left is a monumental trilithon. Burial chambers were cut to the sides. Oh yes folks, communal burial is about to take a very interesting form. The middle level is entered through a doorway via the upper level. Go thru doorway &
watch out for the 1.1 m drop ;-) In the middle level we have 3 interlinked zones, chambers with elements of temple facades. There's a number of chambers. The main one was originally painted with red ochre. The zones are different in terms of layout, use etc.
The lower level is accessed via a stair case, and here too we have an arrangement of chambers and spaces. Each zone is a place of different sensations - different light, sound... even the air feels different.
Ok photos. Photos by Daniel Cilia - crappy quality is my fault b/c I took a snapshot from a book, but Daniel is a master photographer who specializes in heritage & has brought to life an incredible number of books. More on Daniel here: patrimonju.org/podcasts/danie… (in English)
Check the alt text for descriptions :-)
And some more. Again, see the alt text
So... quite the place for collective #burial eh? Last time we saw that it started in the Żebbuġ phase, but by now it has developed into something monumental (again, this did NOT appear out of nowhere @netflix). This site was discovered in the early 20th century so...
...for more burial data we head to #Gozo, specifically the Xagħra Circle. This definitely started as a series of natural caves, but because the geography is different they had to bring additional stone elements - they kept the concept, in other words.
This drawing by Caroline Malone (one of the excavators here) gives you a pretty good idea. The caves were enlarged over time, there is an outer wall and big entrance and inside we see a series of megaliths.
From these excavations we have a wealth of detail on collective burial. In summary, when the flesh goes away, the bones are moved and placed into piles (skulls, long bones etc) See this via @BradshawFND bradshawfoundation.com/malta/xaghra.p…
Publication info: arch.cam.ac.uk/files/malta_to… & more photos via @megportal here megalithic.co.uk/article.php?si…. The differences in geography can be seen in terms of using what's available to keep up the same concept - an important thing at this time.
Both sites have relationships with above ground structures. The Gozo one is linked to the temples at Ġgantija and Santa Verna. The Saflieni one to Tarxien and very likely Kordin. See here: sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
PS sorry I did not have the funds to make this open access but do drop me a line if you want to. There are other Late Neolithic burial places - not as large as these, e.g. at Xemxija. We also know from old reports that smaller hypogea existed near other temple sites.
Assuming we are still around tomorrow, I'll talk about locations and links. For now, think about what this all means - we have a very elaborate system that survives over a very long period. It most certainly doesn't come out of nowhere &
it requires constant activity to maintain. These sites, both above & below, are persistent places. People return to them many times, because bones don't move themselves ;-) People engage directly with the body. Bones are there to be handled, touched, moved.
In travelling between temples & tombs, people experienced different landscapes. You go from the smells of the open air to the smell inside the chambers. You got to touch the bones and the flesh, smell the rotting flesh and watch the transformation.
Why? Well, hopefully this will be in a later thread. For now, it is time to return to work. Thank you for joining me on this journey and see you tomorrow!
Ps. I wanted to say I’m overwhelmed (in a good way!) by the interest. Thank you all so much for the likes, retweets and for joining me on this journey. I’m so happy to see so much interest in this topic. Truly, thank you ❤️
Oh I finally got hold of Daniel and here’s a list of the MANY books he’s worked on. Truly he’s amazing. acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?ur…
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