Tarxien temples were discovered in 1914 by local farmers who struck large stone blocks while ploughing a field. Their discovery was reported to Sir Temistocles Zammit, Malta’s first director of museums, who excavated the site in 1915-17. His pioneering work put our understanding of Maltese prehistory on a solid foundation.  

 

This site, dating from 3600 to 2500 BC, is the most complex of all temple sites in Malta and consists of four megalithic structures. The temples are renowned for the detail of their carvings, which include domestic animals carved in relief, altars, and screens decorated with spiral designs and other patterns. Of particular note is a chamber set into the thickness of the wall between the South and Central temples, which is famous for its relief of two bulls and a sow. 

 

The site seems to have been used extensively for rituals, which probably involved animal sacrifice. Tarxien is also of great interest because it offers an insight into how the temples were constructed: stone rollers left outside the south temple were probably used for transporting the megaliths. Remains of cremation have also been found at the centre of the South temple at Tarxien, which indicates that the site was reused as a Bronze Age cremation cemetery.