guide as I walked the countryside and visited all the sites, the main temples and the lesser remains of which only a few stones had survived. Many of the sites mentioned in Trump’s Guide could still be located, whether in the form of sizeable ruins, scattered blocks or just a single upright stone. The number of megalithic sites was staggering. I would later find out that a total of 66 of them have been recorded.i

Map of the recorded megalithic sites on the Maltese islands based on John D. Evans, The Prehsitoric Antiquities of the Maltese Islands: A Survey (London, 1971). In 2015, a new temple was discovered by Ruben Paul Borg on the already known site of Xrobb l-Ghagin by means of ground penetrating radar. It is likelysolving the mystery the Maltese temples have posed ever since their discovery.

Even today, most of the megalithic remains can still be found, as they often lie outside the perimeters of the urban sprawl which has devoured much of Malta’s once rural landscape. With the exception of the Tarxien temples, the Buġibba ruin and the Qala stone, a visit to the temple sites will include a country walk, and the reward is a panoramic view from their portals towards the horizon, wherever it is unobstructed.

Hagar Qim Main temple, facade and west wall

Mnajdra-South, facade

Tarxien-South, facade

Ggantija temples, rear wall and view

Ggantija-South, facade

Ggantija-South, view through central axis

Buggiba ruin

Skorba ruin with view

Ta’ Hagrat, view to raised horizon of Dwejra lines

Ras ir-Raheb, scanty remains, sea view

Kunzizzjoni remains, sea view

There is no predictable pattern in