The Ggantija Complex, Gozo
The Oldest Buildings in Europe are found in Malta, they are Older than the Pyramids of Egypt. The Human story of Malta starts around 7000 years ago when the first Neolithic Farmers crossed the 50 mile wide straits that separate the islands from Sicily.
The archaeological record shows unequivocally that the Temple Builders disappeared from around 2500 B.C. Whether this was due to over-exploitation and eventual exhaustion of the natural resources, compounded by successive years of drought or a climate change, the entire population were forced to desert the island.
Ggantija, on Gozo, is the earliest of the four major temple complexes on Malta, and probably dates to sometime around the middle of the fourth millennium. One source (Bonanno 1997) gives 3600 - 3300 BC, although other dates may be found in various reference books.
In the plan of Ggantija, the basic trefoil (three-lobed) shape was modified by the addition of pairs of side apses. The complex consists of two temples, one having five apses and the other having four apses plus an end niche. The whole is enclosed by an outer wall. The temple axes are oriented to the southeast.
The Ggantija Complex, Gozo