Clearing the Neolithic Temples of Skorba : new light on the earlier peoples of Malta

Abstract

The last report on the work carried out by the National Museum of Malta at Skorba contained the sentence, " a short season in October next is planned to round off the excavation." Vain hope! A full five week campaign, like all the previous ones here, has added as many problems as it has solved. Work began at Easter I961 (report in The Illustrated London News for August 12} on a small suspected temple. Since it proved larger than anticipated, it was not completely cleared until the autumn campaign (report in I .L.N. of December 30) , when outbuildings were found to the west and a second temple suspected on the east. In the spring of I962 (report in I .L.N. of August II) part of the outbuildings turned out to be a hut of an earlier village, and the second temple was confirmed and three quarters cleared. All that remained to be done was to open out the last corner of the hut and to clear one apse and the outer wall of the east temple. For these a short season seemed ample. Digging was resumed on October 1 the funds contributed by the Society of Antiquaries, the British Academy, the Malta Archaeological Circle and private subscription for earlier campaigns not yet being exhausted. Practical help 'was also given by the Public Works Department and volunteer assistants. The first three trenches were sited in a field to the east and confirmed, as was hoped, that the temple buildings did not extend further in this direction (Fig. 3) . However, the older village on the site did, although it had been found , previously only out to the west.