which means the compass directions, of all the temple axes of which the regular ground plan was known, and they came to the interesting conclusion that the distribution of their orientations was not random and that it had not happened by chance. Some mechanism must have been the driving force behind the peculiar pattern of temple orientations.

Orientation of temple axes showing two clusters – to SE and SW. (Diagram from Agius and Ventura)

How could these two clear patterns on either side of due south be explained?

Confining themselves to the conventional dates for Malta’s temple period (4,000 – 2,500 BC) Agius and Ventura identified several stars the buildings could have been orientated to. But in view of the obvious unity of the Maltese temple culture, the outcome of morethan one star as their target does not appear to be satisfactory. The problem here consisted clearly in the dating restrictions imposed after World War II by the British archaeologists, as opposed to the earlier insights of Italian Ugolini. In view of this, it seemed more than legitimate for me to abandon these restrictions and let the search be guided purely from an astronomical point of view. The pertinent question then to ask is:

“In view of the unity of the Maltese temple culture, could there have been one star that came into the focus, at some point in time, for all the temples?”

The answer is yes, there was one, and it was one that could not have been more befitting of the majesty of the Maltese temples in