Mnajdra Temple Malta protection cover - photographs

Mnajdra Temple on the Island of Malta was given a protective covering in 2009 that will ensure its survival for future generations. Thank you whoever approved and designed the protection sheet. The future generations will be able to view this magical megalithic building in all its full glory.

Mnajdra complex - UNESCO site - magic and mysterious

When visiting the Mnajdra Temple complex you can feel and appreciate the natural splendour and wonder that has inspired previous generations. The Mnajdra Megalith Temple is under the white protective cover. This photograph of the protection scheme was taken close by on the track to the Misqa tanks.

Can you feel it in the air tonight?

When you visit Malta's Mnajdra Temple and the nearby Hagar Qim Temple complex (that also has its own protection cover) hopefully you won't be able to feel rain in the air otherwise this is the view you get. The UNESCO listed Mnajdra Temples protective tent will ensure that visitors will get the same view for years to come.

Mnajdra's Temple Builders turning in their hypogeum?

Is the protection and the protective cover of the Maltese Mnajdra Temple and the Hagar Qim Temple worth the cost? Not talking about money but about the Temple itself or of course the visitors to the Mnajdra / Hagar Qim Temples complex. The Mnajdra and Hagar Qim Temples were built at this location for a reason. Perhaps for the natural energy that the area has. The protective covering and its supports destroy the Hagar Qim Temple and Mnajdra Temples connection with surroundings.

Is this similar with the Seahenge timber circle in Norfolk, England. The amazing Seahenge consisting of an upside Oak tree surrounded by wooden posts, the beach it found itself now on was being worn away. They excavated Seahenge from its natural surroundings to protect it for future generations. It's now in a Museum. All its natural power and wonder gone. The real message of Seahenge lost for ever. Should they have left it where it was meant to be out of respect to our ancestors who built it and placed it there for a reason?

Ancient monuments - who protects the protected?

This is the skeleton of a Common Chamaeleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon - Chamaeleonidae) found near the Mnajdra Temple and its protective sheet. Local Maltese folklore says that Chamaeleons can change their skin to match all colour backgrounds apart from red. You can kill a Chamaeleon by placing it on a red background because the Chamaeleon will exhaust itself or have a heart attack trying. Is this photograph proof as this Chamaeleon's skeleton is found on the red soil of Malta?

Should we leave things as we found them or change the background? Is not the point of ancient ruins, buildings and temples such as the Mnajdra and Hagar Qim Temples that the state of them reminds us that we are only human. No matter how powerful a person is or a civilization it has to end, either by natures power or someone elses. That is one of the lessons to be learned from Malta's Megalithic Temples and those around the world.

Temple Builder objects may need preserving and protecting by moving into a Museum or Visitor Centre but the buildings themselves should be left as they are. Although saying that the Mnajdra Temple and Hagar Qim Temple complex we see today is a reconstruction. The orginal monstrous stones having been pushed over by something (the Floods?) and covered with soil (similar to most ancient buildings being buried).

Perhaps we should do the same thing for all ancient monuments and UNESCO sites? Stonehenge and especially the Egyptian Giza Pyramids would be good to see. And we could hold Raves underneath them to pay for the costs.

** Mnajdra Temple, Malta | Forum DIScussion on the protection cover tent
** Mnajdra Temple, Malta | EYE photograph album of the protective cover scheme
** The strange underground Misqa tanks located near Mnajdra Temple, Malta
** Megalithic Temples of Malta | Forum DIScussion on the ancient sites of Malta