Once upon a time, there stood at a place called Mnajdra a pristine megalithic temple, one of several found in Malta thought to have been constructed as places of worship between 3500 and 3000 B.C. Carbon dating has shown these unique structures to be far older than the Pyramids of Egypt, Stonehenge in England, and the many imposing buildings found in ancient parts of the world. Left unanswered is how our ancestors who built the temples were able to align in position limestone slabs weighing many tons. The superlative "Mega" is of Greek origin and denotes dimension of enormous bulk. In recognition of their historic importance, Malta's cultural markers nominated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, serve as a magnet to attract educational tourism. Sadly they are often targeted for special damage because of their symbolic value.
During a recent act of random vandalism, some 60 large megaliths were dislodged and thrown onto the floor of the temple by an unknown person(s). Slabs that were left untouched by human hands for five millenniums were dislodged and strewn around in crude fashion, as a form of protest against some real or imaginary infraction of justice inflicted by local authorities. Speculation in regards to motive proliferates. The irrational actions of a rebellious social misfit(s) is seen by some as the surface manifestation of a complex psyche, having deep roots in a divided Maltese society fueled by a wide range of social undercurrents. In a similar vein, a keen journalistic observer of Malta has hinted at the undercurrents of the political scene there, where small groups with a common interest in hunting exercise power out of proportion to their numbers, in a form of almost Masonic-like association. A wit once noted that power without representation was the prerogative of harlots throughout the ages. Others attribute the wanton maiming of the ageless edifice as a simple case of blind anger and vindictiveness. One thing is clear. Perhaps in an unintended way, the criminal perpetrator(s) robbed humanity at large of an icon so very rare, as to be virtually irreplaceable.
As with other acts of infamy, virtue often transpires from evil. The vile desecration of a priceless historical architectural monument, reminded folks to gauge and place in perspective the passage of evolutionary time over eons, and the remarkable ingenuity of so called primitive men, that permitted them to accomplish feats of unsurpassed construction engineering, which must have required a high knowledge and application of complex geometric calculations.
Commitment of the offense would not have been possible were it not for the equal culpability of the Maltese government to inadequately protect against physical damage of a structure unmatched elsewhere on earth for its historic importance. The Maltese authorities are now bound to make greater efforts to find and punish the culprits. Proper care of the temple(s), as Linda Eneix recently pointed out to the Malta Times newspaper, is a much larger issue than their security, and is not going to be answered simply by enclosing them within stronger and higher fences. Ms. Eneix, an American citizen resident in Sarasota Florida, set up the OTS Foundation in the U.S. in 1995, to foster international awareness of the importance of Malta's prehistoric heritage. In conjunction with the University of South Florida, she planned the creation of "Ancient Island", an open-air archaeology park still under development on the Gulf Coast of Florida, themed on prehistoric Malta. The exhibition would showcase the every day life of the people of the temples, who as a matriarchal society lived and worshiped female gods, as depicted in her 1997 novel of ancient times in Malta, titled by the same name.
Ms. Eneix correctly argued that when Malta's megalithic temples were nominated as UNESCO World Heritage sites, the people of Malta assumed a moral and legal liability to take care of them. Sadly her position does not match the gross indifference and lack of appreciation they attract from Malta's indigenous population. While the rest of the world holds in awe the temples' architectural and historic importance and value, the Maltese complacently yawn at their God given gifts. Distant attitudes from a consumer-oriented society bring with them an air of indifference towards the preservation of sites that rightfully belong to the entire world, even as local folks are supposedly entrusted with their primary safety.
It is not so much the lack of money, which has placed the temples at grave risk, but the uncaring collective posture of a people more preoccupied with keeping abreast of modern day lifestyles, at a level with other western countries, then being concerned over the safe preservation of stone relics from a distant past. What transpired at Mnajdra, is symptomatic of an ingrained local disrespect and willful disregard for law and order, committed under the aegis of justifiable protest. More to the point, the incident reflects an act of vengeful anarchy. This short sighted self-defeating attitude is all the more curious because in proportion to her miniscule size, Malta is richer in historic monuments than most other Mediterranean countries, including more traveled Italy and Greece, who are also rich in cultural antiquities. Malta is acknowledged to have some 25 temple remains, giving it the highest concentration of prehistoric structures, relative to its small size. If Malta, a land lacking other wonders of nature, is to succeed in attracting better class tourists to its semi-arid shores, in search of cultural edification and historical adventure, it had better preserve its ancient temples, churches, bastions, palaces and numerous other sites of Renaissance and Baroque European design which dot the island. As Ms. Eneix aptly noted, Malta's past is its future.
What is true of the temples in terms of historic importance also applies to Malta's role in the formulation of Western civilization. Located dead center of the Mediterranean Sea, it straddles Europe, Africa and Asia. With the rise and fall of countless empires within the inland sea region, Malta often became a simultaneous victim and beneficiary of military aggression and conquest. It suffered oppressive occupation on end, yet each foreign onslaught brought to its undefended shores new waves of culture and art, which were selectively adopted by its native people. The legacy of Malta's rich history can be seen to this very day in the appearance, mannerism and speech of its polyglot citizens. Generally of light dark complexion they are extraordinary accommodating, friendly, and multi-lingual, in as much as they speak a form of Semitic language as a native tongue, with roots in Phoenicia and Carthage. The same claim cannot be made about the people who inhabited Malta at the time the megalithic temples were built. Unfortunately they vanished from earth without a trace or clue, as to whence they came and to where they went. There were other repeated instances of mass population losses as a consequence of raids during the slave trade area, but never of the same magnitude.
The Maltese must be made aware that they are the guardians of the temples and not their owners. The insular mentality of an island people must make way for a broader scope of thought that takes into account the validation and equally legitimate claims of the international community towards their upkeep and conservation. In a strange way, the regrettable incident at Mnajdra might well incite greater public awareness of Malta's priceless treasures on a global scale. In the process it might mandate a trumpet call for sustained corrective action, to help local authorities protect them from the ravages of nature, and against further willful destruction. International organizations dedicated to historic preservation can join ranks, if only they are made aware of the urgent situation through media promotion. The alternative of inaction is too costly to contemplate and affords no option.
E-mail to Joseph Vella: vellajoseph@msn.net
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