Spring was welcomed with the spring equinox phenomenon at Mnajdra this morning which saw the sun rising in line with the main entrance of the south temple.
Sunrise on the first day of each season underlines the relationship between the temples and celestial bodies. Although it is not known for certain whether these orientations were intentional, they are so systematic that this is very probable. In prehistoric agricultural societies, observation of the motion of the stars, the moon and sun could have been related to the changing seasons and times of planting and harvesting crops.
This morning's phenomenon is repeated on the first day of autumn. There are also alignments with the position where the sun rises on the first day of winter and summer.
The protective shelter that is being completed over Mnajdra has been designed to avoid obstructing any of these alignments.