The
Temple-Builders of Malta:
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The
Temple-Builders of Malta:
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This
informative and well put together video elegantly brings forth the essential
need to expand our knowledge back further than what is commonly considered historical
time in order to more fully understand the evolution of our human heritage.
For
anyone unfamiliar with the Megalithic Temples unearthed in the mid 1800’s on
the islands of Malta & Gozo located in the Mediterranean just south of Sicily,
the film will be an awakening. For those
familiar with the temple period of Malta, the gorgeous footage of the islands
and temple remains, the quiet reverence with which the film explores and discusses
them will rejuvenate the love and devotion these temples so often evoke.
The
video consists of two parts. The first is a section from the documentary series,
Secrets of the Stone Age (produced
by Granada Television), featuring anthropologist Richard Rudgley.
In this portion Rudgley emphasizes the importance of the vast expanse
of time persistently referred to as ‘pre-history’ by beginning in Egypt, the
supposed starting point of civilization, and moving backward in time from there. His intention is to show that these so called high points of civilization
arose not out of thin air or from the influence of people from other planets
but rather out of the creativity and genius of generations of humans that came
before them.
He
takes us to Malta where humans first arrived from Sicily in 5000 BCE and where
have been found the oldest standing buildings in the world. The temples (some 23 have been discovered this
far) were created out of huge limestone slabs—some weighing up to fifty tons
each. The temple builders, he points
out, “led the Egyptians in sailing and navigation and they had agriculture too”.
Here thrived a civilization that created and worshipped in these temples
for a period of two thousand years. Rudgley
has a very quiet and unassuming presence as he leads the viewer across the island
into remains, touching and viewing the gigantic stone slabs with genuine admiration
and awe. And in this guided tour he
makes some profound statements; one of which most of us in the Goddess community
await with some anticipation. A great
sigh of relief is felt when he says, “The image to which this stone age people
prayed was not that of God the Father, but God the Mother; the giver of food,
the Earth Herself.”
Displaying
the temples in aerial view to expose their rounded Goddess shapes he says, “It
isn’t time that separates us from the temple builders, it’s the way we look
at the world…In their world no trace has been found of weapons or warfare. The key to their mindset is in the architecture.
It’s ruled not by straight lines, but by curves.”
The
second half of the video was filmed in Florida at the Ancient Island Discovery
Center run by the OTS Foundation and which houses a reproduction of a temple
entryway and courtyard. Linda C. Eneix,
director and founder engages in a lively discussion with school age children
about the previous footage as well as a display of replicas of sculptures that
have been recovered from the temples. In
this discussion the question of gender is raised and the subject of the absence
of warfare is again brought forward.
Remarkable
reconstructions of what the temples probably looked like at the time of their
creation and use are shown and Ms. Eneix points out that in the architecture
of these temples is found the earliest use of corbelling, forecourts, the horizontal
arch and retaining walls. Later the
children experiment with theories of how the megaliths were moved.
The video ends with a recreation of what a temple ritual may have looked
like.
Watching
the video I again experienced an overwhelming feeling of loss that I so often
encounter when remains of these times are sufficiently brought to life. I always wondered what that was about. Travelling in Italy this past summer an answer
revealed itself to me. What is lost?
What is missing? What exactly is it that I so long for? You see, it was still there in Italy, in the
Italian people, that which seems somehow lost to us here: Soul. A feeling of soul and soulfulness in living.
In being alive. Passion. This
same perceived ‘difference’ is summed up in a very poignant segment of the video.
Richard Rudgley takes architect and writer Richard England into the depths
of the hypogeum of Hal Saflieni, the underground temple and mass burial chamber
chiseled by hand into the living limestone, whose design mirrors perfectly the
above ground temples. In this most holy of spaces he asks: “If you were commissioned to produce something
like this today, how would you go about it?” To which England responds:
“I don’t think we have the spirit to produce this.
I mean we might have the technology but we don’t have the soul”.
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Proceeds
of sales of this video go to the OTS foundation, an organization involved in
research into and preservation of the temples and the cultural heritage of Malta
and Gozo. OTS also offers educational
materials for classrooms and leads Elderhostel tours to the Island. Contact OTS Foundation, P.O. Box 17166 Sarasota,
Florida 34276. USA Fax: 941 918-0265 website: www.maltatemples.com
(order by credit card on website or by sending $23.95 for orders within the
U.S. to the above listed address)
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