Humanity produces exceptional people who excel in various sectors.

Sir Themistocles Zammit, who is also known as Temi Zammit, was one of these. He was born in Valletta in 1864 into a very humble family. His parents were illiterate and yet they succeeded to nurture his thirst for knowledge and his ability to triumph in spite of all the obstacles he faced.

Graduating as a doctor and later on appointed as a professor of chemistry, Zammit earned a knighthood for a vital scientific discovery he made in 1905.

He was the one who identified the vector that was causing the Mediterranean or undulant fever (locally known as deni rqiq), when he recognised that the micro-organism, which became known as Brucellosis melitensis, was being transmitted to humans through fresh goat’s milk.

Sir Temi was also a historian and a prolific writer, authoring several literary works. He served as the rector of the Royal University of Malta for some years, and also as the director of the National Museum. His prowess proved to be indispensable even in the local archaeological field.

The legacy Sir Temi left in Maltese archaeology is best evident in the work that he conducted at Tarxien Temples, which today form part of the UNESCO World Heritage List.

It was Lorenzo Despott, a farmer from Paola, who led to the revelation of this site when, in 1913, he reported hitting large blocks of stone while trying to plough deeper than usual in the field he held as a tenant.

The telltale signs of an impressive discovery were immediately apparent when an exploratory trench was excavated in the field. At a depth of just a metre, blocks of stones started to emerge, coupled with prehistoric pottery.

Further excavations, which resumed in 1915, revealed the grandeur of prehistoric structures that were built with a high level of artistic and technical accomplishment.

A fish-bone necklace found at Tarxien Temples.

By the end of the excavations, in 1919, four structures were uncovered, three of which were interpreted as ‘temples’ due to their size and the artefacts found within them.

Besides this remarkable discovery, Sir Temi is acclaimed for having introduced the first systematic archaeological excavations. Although not using the modern excavation techniques employed today, he applied the approaches that he had learned as a medical doctor and as a renowned scientific researcher. The observations and drawings he left in his notebooks prove the details he went into.

Even though the site of the Tarxien Temples has undergone several studies along the years, it still retains a compelling sense of mystery. Who were the people who built these structures and what was their function?

Garments and ornaments represented on some of the statues and figurines that were recovered from this site give an insightful indication about the people who constructed or utilised these temples.

The colossal statue that was unearthed at the South Temple wears a pleated skirt. The spiral decorations and animal reliefs that were chiselled in stone look like decorations but, probably, were far more meaningful to the people who created them.

A Bronze Age funerary vessel recovered from the site.

The number of stone spheres that were located at this site seem to have been used to transport the large megaliths with which the structures were built. Who knows from which site these huge stones were cut out?

The Tarxien Temples were crucial in understanding another facet of Maltese prehistory – the Bronze Age. After an apparent abandonment of the Maltese islands and its ‘temples’ for a good number of years, new people seem to have reached these shores.

They are identifiable through their introduction of metal and weapons, and through their different treatment of their deceased, using cremation instead of inhumation.

Interestingly, Sir Temi succeeded to notice these people’s reuse of part of the Tarxien Temples through a thick layer which was deposited on the remains left by the previous users of this site, as if making a conscious effort for a fresh start.

One can imagine the pride that Sir Temi must have felt in 1920 while guiding visitors personally around the complex he had so painstakingly excavated during the previous five years.

Sir Temi Zammit at Tarxien Temples in 1918.

Curator’s tour

Following 100 years from the momentous day Sir Temi Zammit guided visitors around Tarxien Temples, Heritage Malta is inviting the public to visit the temples on Sunday at 10am.

A curator’s tour around the temples will recount how this site was discovered, together with the history of its excavation.

Participants will also learn about Sir Temi’s interpretations of what he found and how he arrived at these conclusions.

An exhibition of items related to him, including those in connection to his excavations of the temples, will shed further light on this distinguished man who left such an extraordinary legacy to the Maltese nation.

Tickets can be purchased from Heritage Malta museums and sites, and online. For more information, visit www.heritagemalta.org.

Fiona Vella is the communications and marketing executive at Heritage Malta.

A photo of a Neolithic stone figure taken in September 1915.

Excavation works in 1916.