Saflieni phase
Maltese prehistoric chronology (Based on recalibrated radiocarbon dating) | ||
Period | Phase | Dates BC c. |
---|---|---|
Neolithic (5000–4100 BC) |
Għar Dalam | 5000–4500 BC |
Grey Skorba | 4500–4400 BC | |
Red Skorba | 4400–4100 BC | |
Temple Period (4100–2500 BC) |
Żebbuġ | 4100–3800 BC |
Mġarr | 3800–3600 BC | |
Ġgantija | 3600–3000 BC | |
Saflieni | 3300–3000 BC | |
Tarxien | 3000–2500 BC | |
Bronze Age (2500–700 BC) |
Tarxien Cemetery | 2500–1500 BC |
Borġ in-Nadur | 1500–700 BC | |
Baħrija | 900–700 BC |
The Saflieni phase is one of the eleven phases of Maltese prehistory, the fourth of five in the middle or Temple period. It is named for the Ħal-Saflieni Hypogeum, an underground temple complex now recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO,[1] which was built mainly in this period.
The Saflieni phase, from approximately 3300–3000 BC,[2] is a brief transitional phase between the Ġgantija and Tarxien phases, the two main phases during which the principal Megalithic temples of Malta were built.[3]: 21 Saflieni-phase ceramics may provide a useful indication of separation between the two long phases.[4]: 45 They have been recovered a number of Megalithic sites, including: the top level of the remains at Santa Verna at Xagħra in Gozo; from the eastern part of the temple of Ta' Ħaġrat in Mġarr; and from the lower levels of the east temple at Skorba.[4]: 45–46
References
[edit]- ^ World Heritage List: Hal Saflieni Hypogeum. UNESCO. Accessed February 2014.
- ^ Anthony Bonanno (April 1993). Tarxien and Tarxien Cemetery. Break or Continuity between Temple Period and Bronze Age in Malta?. Mediterráneo. 2: 35–47.
- ^ David Hilary Trump (1972). Malta: An Archaeological Guide. London: Faber and Faber.
- ^ a b Reuben Grima (2008). Landscape, Territories, and the Life-Histories of Monuments in Temple Period Malta. Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology. 21 (1): 35–56. doi:10.1558/jmea.v21i1.35. (subscription required).