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Our special interest in our recent trip to Malta was the biblical record of Paul’s shipwreck there. (Paul was a prisoner on his way to Rome for trial). They wintered on the island (there were 276 passengers on the ship) and then from there went on to Rome (Acts 28). See our previous post here, “Saint Paul’s Bay at Malta.”

There are many other historical and archaeological sites to visit at Malta (which consists of three islands: Malta, the largest, Comino, and Gozo). At Gozo we visited the Ġgantija temples, two temples enclosed within one boundary wall. One is composed of five apses (the southern temple), the other has four. Here is the view as one approaches (note the Mediterranean Sea in the distance):

The Ġgantija temples, as well as other Maltese temples, date back to the Bronze Age (with some scholars dating the older building phase at c. 3500 BC). They are considered to be the oldest free-standing stone buildings in the world, predating the pyramids!

There is the inner left apse of the south temple. It has one of the most complex altars, consisting of three trilithons between four uprights.

In this room you can see a stone hearth, used to hold fires.

It is thought that rituals of fertility were practiced within these precincts.

The biblical world of Paul’s evangelistic travels in Acts 28 was truly permeated with idolatry.