Malta’s mysterious prehistoric temples may have taught sailors to navigate by the stars, new research suggests
Experts have long wondered whether the layout of the temples, which were constructed between 3800BC and 2400BC, held specific meaning.
Malta’s prehistoric temples may align with stars used by ancient seafarers for navigation, archaeologists have argued in
The Art Newspaper
June 11, 2025
© FundFritzPhotography via Wikimedia Commons
newly published research. These temples—Unesco World Heritage Sites among them—were constructed across the archipelago between 3800BC and 2400BC, and their function has long remained a mystery.
“It is possible that the Maltese temples, in addition to other cosmological, religious or social roles that they may have had, could have also been used to train or teach navigation-by-the-stars to younger generations,” write Fabio Silva of Bournemouth University and fellow researcher Tore Lomsdalen, in their paper published in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences.
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