Xemxija The Town Of The Sun And Its Dark Prehistory

By Author: Angelo Xuereb
Total Articles: 11
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The area of Xemxija has only recently developed as a highly touristic area. Due to the presence of hotels in Malta, resorts, guest-houses, restaurants and other modern buildings, the history of the place is sometimes forgotten. This is quite a pity since it has yielded archaeological remains which are of great importance to the reconstruction of Malta's past, going as far back as the prehistoric period.

According to archaeological studies, the first community to settle on our islands did so around 7,000 years ago, bringing with it the whole Neolithic package. This included domesticated animals, agriculture, and pottery. The archaeological record gives us basic information as to the daily life of these first Maltese communities, such as some of the food that they used to eat, as well as a suggestion with regards to where they actually settled.

Later on in our prehistoric timeline, we can also notice the appearance of tombs, thus giving us hints about the sort of beliefs that our prehistoric ancestors had. It is at this point that the area of Xemxija starts giving us vital information.

Excavated by John ...
... Evans in 1955, the so-called Xemxija tombs may not be so impressive for the non-archaeologist but they have definitely been very informative. There is a cluster of tombs of the ‘shaft and chamber' variety situated behind Mistra Village, on a slope which overlooks St. Paul's Bay on its North side. The first set of tombs the visitors encounter is the largest and has the most complex plan, consisting of 5 kidney-shaped spaces converging at a central spot, where the shaft is to be found.

This plan is of particular interest since it has been often compared to the plan of the Maltese prehistoric lobed-temples and John Evans suggests that it somehow influenced the creation of such an above-ground structure.

The interest of such tombs is not solely in the structure itself but also in the finds that were discovered in them. Pottery sherds discovered in the tombs date back to different periods, thus indicating that the same tomb would have been used over and over again by a good number of different generations. It seems that when the tomb was to be used for a successive burial, the cumbersome bones of the previous dead person would be removed, the rest pushed back and space created for the next corpse.

The discovery of scattered pottery sherds nearby, mainly above and below the northern cliffs overlooking Mistra Bay and Mellieha's main road, may suggest that this is where the community using these tombs was living. Cart-ruts in the vicinity, although still one of the greatest enigmas in Maltese history, may also be related to the same community. We do not have any definite answers but archaeological research in Malta is going on all the time, whilst analysis of past excavations may also reveal new insights that may not have been considered before.

Visiting the site of the Xemxija Tombs is a fascinating idea as the area is literally packed with interesting remains and structures dating back to different epochs. It is especially pleasant in late winter or early spring. From the Seashells Resort at Suncrest, the site can be reached in just 7 minutes using public transport. To arrive there by car, one can drive along the road leading to Xemxija Bay past the Qawra Hotels. Additionally, a visit to the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta may be very helpful if one would like to understand further the Xemxija tombs, as the Museum's set-up provides information not just about the actual tombs themselves, but also about their place within the Maltese prehistoric framework.

For further reading one may have a look at:

Trump, D. H. (2002) Malta: Prehistory and Temples, Malta: Midsea Books

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