Heritage Malta is opening the temples of Mnajdra on Friday for the spring equinox.

Sunrise on the first day of the four seasons enters the southern temple of Mnajdra and lights up its interior. On the equinox days, sunlight not only enters the temple but its beam also lights up the temple's main axis.

The public will be able to view this extraordinary event on the spring equinox, on Friday, from 6 to 8.30 a.m.

Mnajdra temples, comprising three temple remains, were probably built between 3,600 to 2,500 BC. The two main buildings are oriented east and south-east. On March 21, the sun rises exactly in the east and sets in the west.

Throughout the world, ancient standing stones and circles have been positioned to act as observation posts on the sun's solstices and equinoxes and the movements of the moon. In early times, man appears to have held great respect for both planets, but especially the sun, which gave him light and brought life to his crops, Heritage Malta explained.

Man was quick to become aware of the dependency of his crops on the movement of the celestial world. The motion of the stars, the moon and the earth itself, having initially been used to orientate the position of the temple structures also signalled the appropriate seasons and times of planting and harvesting. Early civilisation in Malta appears to have been both earth-focused and sky-oriented.

Recent studies on the relationship and orientation of Malta's Temples to the skies, in particular to seasonal astronomical phenomena, reveal particularly interesting alignments to both solstice and equinox events.

Tickets for the event are available on the day from Hagar Qim, price Lm2 for adults and Lm1 for under 16s. Tickets include access to both sites and a guided tour.

For further information, contact Mario Casha at Heritage Malta on tel. 2123 9545 and 2122 1623 or e-mail info@heritagemalta.org.

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