Ggantija is a Neolithic temple complex on the island of Gozo in Malta, made up of two temples built beside each other and enclosed by a shared wall. The monument, made of huge limestone blocks, is among the oldest free-standing structures in the world, older than Stonehenge and the pyramids of Egypt. The name means giantess in Maltese, because local legend said that the temples were built by a giantess who ate a diet of broad beans and honey. The people who built them were farmers who lived on the islands, and their purpose is thought to have been religious. Ggantija is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Megalithic Temples of Malta, inscribed in 1980.
Before and after
- 5th millennium BCEOrigins of Jerusalem
- c. 4,000 BCEOrigins of Thinis
- from c. 4,000 BCE to 3,100 BCEUruk period
- c. 4,000 BCEEruption of Witori
- c. 3,600 BCEConstruction of Ġgantija
- from c. 3,600 BCE to 2,500 BCEOrigins of Megalithic Temples of Malta
- c. 3,580 BCEEruption of Taal
- c. 3,550 BCEEruption of Pinatubo
- from 36th century BCE to 18th century BCECaral–Supe civilization
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- c. 7,350s BCEConstruction of Cueva de las Manos
- 8th millennium BCEOrigins of Athens
- from 8th millennium BCE to 4th millennium BCEOrigins of Khirokitia
- from c. 7,000 BCE to 586 BCEConstruction of Tel Megiddo
- c. 3,501 BCEPeople first tame horses on the steppe
- from c. 3,500 BCE to 2,500 BCEOrigins of Brú na Bóinne
The era
This moment belongs to the Human prehistory (300,000 years ago to 3,200 BCE), the human story before writing.