|
Having seen how the x-unit
was used as the basic measure for the internal planning
and layout of the temple, one can follow how the need for
more space inside the temple affected its plan.
At a glance, the plan of
the Ta’ Hagrat temple looks rather long and narrow
compared to the rest of the temples. This resulted from
having a x-unit based on a one-stepped doorway and a main
axis which is 6 x-units long. The other three-apse temples
of Skorba and Ggantija south are planned very similar to
each other. The same principle of one-stepped doorway was
used although it was widened at the latter. This time,
their length was reduced to 5 x-units while the centre of
their left apse was to be 2 x-units from the
stepped doorway, as stated above. This resulted in the
plans of both temples being relatively shorter and wider,
and therefore different from Ta’ Hagrat.
After these three-apse
temples, the plan was changed to the four-apse temple.
Based on its slightly different plan from the others, it
seems that Ggantija North was the first one to be
constructed with this new plan. It was to have a length of
six x-units. Then came Hagar Qim and Tarxien East. Both
structures are seven x-units in length, the x-unit still
coming from the width of their one-stepped doorway. This
arrangement caused the temple to have a long structure
with relatively small apses due to its short x-unit.
Some time later, the
x-unit became longer because the builders created the two
stepped doorway, as explained earlier. This caused the
plan of the temple to have less multiples of x-units
concerning its internal length. Also, the x-unit being
used as the radius of the apses resulted in having larger
apses and therefore more room space. This can be observed
at Hagar Qim North, Mnajdra South and Mnajdra Central,
which all are five x-units in length. On the same argument
of the two-stepped doorway, only Tarxien South is six
x-units in length, making it one of the most spacious
temples.
A
close look at the plan of Hagar Qim shows that the inner
part was re-constructed. The back door was opened to give
access to other parts of the complex, while the inner
right apse was re-planned. This comes from the fact that
while the main doorway is a one-stepped doorway, the
second one is a two-stepped doorway. This change may have
been made for the purpose of having a larger apse. Another
fact is that different techniques were used in the
construction between the front and rear apses. While the
front apses are made of
irregular boulders, the inner apse is constructed
of fine ashlar masonry of megaliths comparable to Mnajdra
and Tarxien.
|
