San Andrea students visit megalithic temples

Last month, Grade 9 (Form 2) students from San Andrea Senior School, l-Imselliet, had the opportunity to experience the important methodological concept of "History outside the classroom" when, in order to understand the rich prehistoric and megalithic periods of Maltese history, they were taken on an educational outing to the main megalithic temple sites of Malta. This helped the students to understand the distant past and also be able to analyse it, through the available evidence around them.

This history fieldwork was planned with a difference, since the actual history lessons about the temples, complete with questioning, eliciting, analysing, explaining and written worksheets were to be done at the temple sites.

The obvious advantage is that this would further motivate the students, since they would be able to visualise instantly all the artefacts and evidence about which they would be studying. Moreover, before going to this outing the students were prepared about the topic through the use of handouts, overhead transparencies, charts, slides and videos.

The first site we visited was the one closest to our school; that is the prehistoric World Heritage Site of Skorba found at Zebbiegh, limits of Mgarr. With the precious help of Katya Stroud from Heritage Malta, who was the guide on site, the students could observe the megalithic remains, as well as visualise the site where the first people who came to Malta settled down. In fact, at this site, they could see the foundations of the earliest prehistoric settlement of huts in Malta.

The students showed great interest in this site, particularly because the pottery found here gives us the fundamental evidence that the first people to settle in Malta were Sicilian farmers and hunters since the pottery remains were very similar to those found in Sicily, Lipari and Pantelleria. Ms Stroud was particularly struck by the number of challenging questions the students asked and the great motivation they showed.

The other temples we visited after Skorba were the more popular temples sites of Tarxien, Hagar Qim and Mnajdra. At these sites the students asked questions, analysed the available evidence made up of magnificent art and architecture, filled in the available worksheets and read their textbooks and notes.

The students were particularly interested in the magnificent corbelling, statues, altars, spiral designs, carved and embossed animal figures, the carved model figure of a temple (at Mnajdra), the trefoil shape of the megalithic temples, the semi-circular apses, the Tree of Life (at Hagar Qim) and the holes of the oracle found in both temples.

Apart from improving the students' learning and understanding of Maltese prehistory, this educational outing made them aware of their country's rich archaeological and historical heritage. It also made them very aware of their duty to protect it for future generations.

Back at school, the students had a follow up activity through a detailed Power Point presentation about the sites we visited and the other temple sites in Malta and Gozo. The subsequent homework and the History mid-year exam were also a follow-up to this educational outing since they were mostly based on this history fieldwork.

This whole-day history educational outing would not have been possible without the support of the head of Senior School Ms Audrey Galea and all the willing teachers who supervised the 89 students during this fieldwork activity.

Mr Briffa, who organised the outing, is Humnaities co-ordinator and History teacher at San Andrea Senior School