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Frequent visits to the
Maltese neolithic temples and careful observations showed
that there is some connection between the direction of
winter solstice sunrise and at least eight of the early
megalithic structures. Their orientation towards the
south-east and the height of their main doorways permitted
direct sunlight to enter into their innermost points in
the main areas. Further observations showed some
similarities between the temples regarding the behaviour
of sunlight in their interior. All this suggested that
winter sunlight may have influenced the plan of the
earlier temples.
Later megalithic temples
tended to be orientated towards the south and south-west,
but they had basically the same plan as the earlier
structures. More observations showed
that the plan of a temple was based on a formula
consisting of four basic units of measurement. These are
the d-unit, e-unit and h-unit, which were respectively
responsible for the width, length and height of the main
doorway. The internal parts of the temple were based on
the x-unit based on the width of the stepped doorway.
It has been proposed that
all the temples followed these basic principles. On the
other hand, these principles also allowed for considerable
variation, and every structure is unique as a result. A
key realisation during this research was that the idea of
a standard measurement such as the notion of a
“megalithic yard”, was not required in the
construction of these buildings. Instead, they are based
on internal proportions between different parts of the
structure itself. All that was needed for the planning of
a temple was four short lengths of of rope or wood, no
more than four meters long. Four simple things, that when
combined with the needs and beliefs, together with the
imagination and experience of our temple-builders, helped
create the unique and wonderful monuments that have
withstood the ravages of time for 5,000 years.
©
Mario Vassallo 2003
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