Imagine building a three-storey, 1,600 square foot temple by digging into rock using only flint tools. That's what the ancient inhabitants of Malta did about three thousand years Before Christ.

The Hypogeum is located in Hal Saflieni near the town of Paola or Rahal il-Gdid, as it is more commonly known. The Hypogeum is a unique underground temple the likes of which are not found anywhere else. The neo-megalithic temple, is a rock-cut wonder of the ancient inhabitants of the Maltese islands.

The temple was discovered quite by accident in 1902. A house was being built on the site and as is customary, a well to collect rain water was being dug out of the soft limestone at the back of the house. The digging led to the discovery of the temple. At first, the builder kept the discovery secret and used the hollow upper chamber of the temple to dump building rubble from the construction site. Once the house was finished, the authorities were informed of the discovery. The action of the builder resulted in some damage to the upper level of the temple and the footings for the house are still visible.

The site now houses a museum. A spiral staircase leads to the chambers below. Traces of a megalithic building were found at the entrance to the site when a road was built in front of the house.

Pottery found at the Hypogeum dates back to between 2900 and 3000 B.C.

The upper chambers are irregular and roughly finished. The lower chambers are more regular in shape and are finished much better. The layout is not easy to describe since the various chambers are interconnected with corridors.

The middle level of the temple consist of larger chambers with finely finished walls carved to resemble megalithic temples of the period. One chamber at this level is carved to simulate an apse with a concave curve, heavy corbelling and a doorway flanked by altar niches leading to a small kidney-shaped chamber. This chamber is called the 'Holy of Holies'. It appears that the chambers were used both for burial and ritual purposes. Traces of red ochre, commonly used for burial in ancient times, can still be seen on the walls. Two terracotta statuettes were found at this level. One of the statuettes is called the "sleeping lady" since it represents a woman sleeping on her side.

The Oracle Chamber is also at this level. The Oracle Chamber actually consists of three adjacent oval chambers, the smallest one resembling a niche. The most interesting fact about this niche is that when a man speaks into it with a deep voice, the echo reverberates around the chambers, filling the entire hypogeum and seems to have no point of origin. A woman's voice has no such effect. It is believed that this was designed this way to be used by the high priest.

The lower chambers, at a depth of thirty six feet, are reached by ancient steps leading from the antechamber of the 'Holy of Holies'. Here there are a number of pits that were used for multiple burials and some for storage. There's also a cistern, or well, at this level.

Although the Hypogeum was definitely used for burial and rituals, the exact function of the temple is not known, although the remains of some 7,000 persons were found in the Hypogeum.

Some of the walls of the Hypogeum are almost completely covered with sculptures. Others are covered with designs of curves, spirals and circles forming beautiful designs.

The "Holy of Holies"

More information on this unique temple can be found at the Official Web Site of the Government of Malta.

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