Spring equinox at Mnajdra

Nathalie Vella

Mar 23rd 2009, 10:51

@ Maurice Falzon

I totally agree with you - it is a shame that we are not preserving out temples for future generations

The worst though are Sqorba temples which are the official oldest settlement in Europe and they are surrounded with some silly excuse of a fence and tourists are not allowed to enter because no-one had the inclination to put up a wooden pathway so the stones won't be damaged. Might I add that our local councils can get funds for these projects by the European Union, however no one has done so up to now..

You can even check out the Roman Baths near Golden Bay - they are surrounded (and filled) with 1.5 metre high stalks - it's crazy.. for a country so rich in historic sites we should be ashamed of ourselves

Ing. Albert Ellul

Mar 22nd 2009, 12:14

Hagar Qim Temple has one of its axis aligned to the moon, exactly to the 19 year cycle. This has been identified, after many years of observation by my father Joseph S. Ellul today 89 years old, who as a child lived and roamed the area together with his father and grandfather who both were involved, under Sir Temi Zammit's direction, in the temples' excavations. So, G.Bonnici, who tongue-in-cheek sounds keptical about the temple's astronomical alignment, may be surprised to note that these buildings have got more mathematics than his feline's posterior section. Read the following:

REF: Wikipedia: "The Chaldean astronomer Kidinnu (4th century BC) knew of the 19-year cycle, but the Babylonians may have learned of it earlier. They measured the moon's motion against the stars, so the 235:19 relation may originally have referred to sidereal years, instead of tropical years as it has been used in various calendars; however, ancient astronomers did not make a clear distinction between sidereal and tropical years before Hipparchus discovered precession of the equinoxes c. 130 BC."

My father was also the first to postulate without modern-day computers, (early 60's) that Maltese temples were astronomically-aligned, a theory later on plagiarised by others.

Alex Spiteri

Mar 21st 2009, 19:25

whoever shot that video, must upload it on utube!

Joseph Schembri

Mar 21st 2009, 16:32

The modern and almost universally accepted tenet in any intervention on such incredible treasures is that said intervention should be reversible. The tents are of course hideous but easily removed and thus reversible. (Unlike interventions by the British that consisted of covering our megaliths in cement!) The shelters are the only thing that we can do for now. I pray that the German and Italian workers that I see at the site know what they are doing and the whole sail like structures do not topple over in some storm causing terrible damage.

Maurice Falzon

Mar 21st 2009, 15:50

It's interesting that the video cunningly avoids the high angles and long shots! It grovels at ground level...and with good reason ...to avoid the shameful state to which our caring society has reduced these glorious temples, dwarfing them and destroying their haunting beauty under an ugly and useless metal parasol!

Hagar Qim itself has been humbled by the grossness of these metal webs that loom high over the Stones and the 'modern' oversized visitor's centre that has robbed it further of its unique majestic glory.

Sadly it was not the wind nor the rain nor the sun not even the quarries or the bird trappers that have killed the fabled romance of our ancient Temples but the misguided, undoubted well meaning cares of our Heritage societies!

Strange how as yet no similar cage was devised to preserve Stonehenge, The Pyramids, The Acropolis, The Coliseum, Delphi.....

Graffiti and the elements may have partly ruined the Body of our Temples but it took the Experts to kill the Soul !!

G.Bonnici

Mar 21st 2009, 12:38

How do we know if this is all coincidence. I mean, if i wanted to, I could get a marvel and a mathematical formula out of my cat butt. I am sure that the guys back then, had the propensity to build a temple whereby the sun shone like that twice or so every year. Well they could have, but taking the time it took to build this temple together with the spring equinox does nor happen every other day - I doubt this theory beyond calling this total coincidence.

Could it be that when there is a full moon, at certain period of the year, the light of the moon shines directly through one of the exposed holes in the megaliths ?

mario azzopardi

Mar 21st 2009, 12:36

@ Joseph Mangani
I do concur with Joseph and would like to add that Mr. Micallef was above all an able Land Surveyor and dedicatde a number of years researching on this discovery.

C. Briffa

Mar 21st 2009, 12:32

@ Martin Spiteri: We were told that journalists had an 'exclusivity' over the site and this phenomenon today.

Kevin Carbonaro

Mar 21st 2009, 12:16

If and When a protective shelter is built on the temples...

and with reference to °has been designed to avoid obstructing any of these alignments.° about the protective shelter,

I think they should also add an artificial sunrise (on-demand), so that tourists will be able to experience (enhanced with audio commentary) the alignments at any time when tours are organised.

Martin Spiteri

Mar 21st 2009, 11:34

@C.Briffa - How come you were not allowed in? As far as I know Mnajdra temples are a public place and you can go in as long as you pay, like in any other historical site. No?

Joseph Mangani

Mar 21st 2009, 10:05

For the discovery and early studies of these orientations, tribute should be given to the late Mr Paul Micallef, mathematician and astronomer, from Fgura. His publications and newspaper articles confirm this.

C. Briffa

Mar 21st 2009, 09:59

It looks very beautiful....pity that my family and myself were there too at 5.30 this morning but were not allowed to enter.