BoV to fund Lm190,000 Tarxien Temples project

The dream of those who wish to see the country's neolithic temples properly cared for is about to come true, Heritage Malta chairman Mario Tabone said yesterday.

Bank of Valletta will be passing Lm190,000 on to Heritage Malta over the next 10 years for what is being termed the BoV Tarxien Temples Project.

The first phase of the project will involve the setting up of a visitor centre, the first such centre in a neolithic temple. Apart from this, there will be an interactive section featuring descriptive panels and labelling of all the items, a retail outlet and extensive rehabilitation works.

This unique group of temples, dating to between 3150 and 2500 BC are the most complex of all the temples in Malta. They were excavated by Temi Zammit between 1915 and 1919 after a farmer complained he kept coming across big boulders when ploughing his land.

Dr Tabone was speaking at the Tarxien Temples at the signing of the financing agreement of the Tarxien Temples Project.

The Minister for Youth and the Arts, Jesmond Mugliett said the visitor centre would lead to a heritage trail in the neighbourhood that would take in the Hypogeum at Hal Salfieni and the Corradino Temples among other sites.

Bank chairman Joseph F.X. Zahra said: "It is important for commercial organisations to understand the social fabric of the people they work with and it was with this aim in mind that the bank took this initiative".

The minister explained that the project was first mooted several years ago but nothing had come of it because there was no clear idea then of what the project should entail. "The project breaks new ground on how the Tarxien Temples will be managed," he added.

In the book "Malta: an archaeological guide", printed by Progress Press, the author David Trump wrote that a number of blocks in the temples were capped with concrete partly to improve the appearance of the site but primarily to prevent rainwater from seeping in to decay the stone.

The decorated blocks found at the temple are now at the Archaeological Museum, in Valletta and have been replaced by copies.