Hypogeum Mortuary Temple Complex
Hypogeum Mortuary Temple Complex
|
|
||||
|
PLEASE STAND BY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For most people, a visit to the Hypogeum is an experience that defies description. This is my nomination for the place on earth with the most mystery per square inch: the Hal-Saflieni Hypogeum located in the village of Paola on the island of Malta. You may have seen it featured in a TV show for the Discovery network: “Places of Mystery”. In Britain, it was showcased in “Secrets of the Stone Age.” Usually called simply “The Hypogeum”, this site is a 5,000-plus-year-old underground mortuary temple, created by architects of a vanished civilization. There is nothing like it anywhere on earth. (That is to say, other than on the Maltese islands on which there are known to be comparable but unexcavated sites.) Created by the removal of an estimated 2,000 tons of solid rock, the Hypogeum is a three storey 3-D sculpture concealed below the crust of the island. It is a site of eerie shadows, booming echoes and potential for imagination overload. In the 1990’s, with help from UNESCO, a state-of-the-art visitor center was constructed to float above the fragile Hypogeum complex. Today’s visitors view a short introductory film at one stop in an air-lock ventilation system. At the back of the theatre hall, huge glass walls enclose a vast rough cavity beyond. The film ends. A curator leads everyone down a broad metal stairway and orients them to the site’s original entrance. While low-voltage lights go up and down in various hewn chambers on either side, the visitors stand for a moment poised to go deeper as the curator prepares the group with further background explanation. All thoughts of the outside world are suspended.
|
The story unfolds of a mysterious culture that flowered on these islands and built megalithic monuments that are the oldest buildings in the world. The Stone Age people developed in peace and isolation for nearly two thousand years, becoming far advanced for their time. Then they abruptly disappeared without explanation at around 2,500 BC. Down here, as in the other subterranean hypogeum complexes associated with the Neolithic “Temple Period” on Malta, they lay their dead. It is estimated that the remains of 7,000 people were once entombed in the Hal-Saflieni Hypogeum. (One small deposit has been left for future study, undisturbed and out of sight.) But this place was much more than a prehistoric cemetery. In addition to ochre-treated human bones, exquisite sculptures and pottery were found when the Hypogeum was discovered in the early 1900’s. Archaeologists suspect that the prehistoric people had regular sessions of trance and other rituals here. In fact, there is every indication of a full-blown and highly structured religion being practiced by the “Temple Builders” at a time when Egypt was still a thousand years from its first pyramid. The artifacts representing this culture are highly stylized and artistically expressive. They show furniture, textiles and structured garments, intricate hairdo’s and headdresses. Even the most abstractly modeled face holds personality. As one is guided along the railed walkway into the darkness of the middle and most elaborate level of the complex, hints of the spaces beyond can be glimpsed through strange openings and windows in the stone. The lighting must be carefully controlled with dimmers. If there is too much light, there is a problem with algae that damages the ancient paintings: red ochre applied thousands of years ago in mystical patterns of swirls and disks. In a stunning example of architecture in reverse, the Hypogeum was carved to mimic features of the above-ground temples that still stand in several locations on Malta. It is astonishing to see the degree of stone finishing that was accomplished without the use of metal tools: doorways with holes punched for hinges, post and lintel systems, corbelled ceilings, and sacrificial libation holes. One hall looks as if it is being viewed through a camera’s fish-eye lens. It was carved that way on purpose, with all its lines curving and arcing as if it were the inside of a giant egg. |
The curator may demonstrate an amazing acoustical effect generated from the “oracle chamber” where a low voice directed to the right spot reverberates through the entire complex. The visitor may be shown the routes to deeper parts of the Hypogeum that are too dangerous for general entry. The pure spirit of the place has the power to fire the mind’s eye. There are secrets here. There are clues to a society vastly different from our own, yet hauntingly familiar. A hundred unanswered questions lead to Stonehenge and other megalithic monuments in the British Isles, to Minoan Crete, to ancient Anatolia and the revolution of the Neolithic Age. Mysterious? Oh yes. I was privileged to make my first visit to the Hypogeum in the old days, when the procedure was simply to arrange for someone to come with the key. To say that it was impressive is an understatement. I entered via the old house that used to exist above the site and descended by spiral staircase to wander at will… once with only a flashlight. It was more physically dangerous to navigate then, but it was wild and fabulous and mind-boggling. It inspired me to write a novel and a screenplay; now it forms the core of a documentary film in development.
In order to confront the mystery of the Hypogeum first-hand, one must go to the middle of the Mediterranean, 60 miles south of Sicily. Lufthansa, Alitalia and British Airways have connecting flights to Malta from North America. Entry to the Hypogeum is strictly limited to ten persons per hour and is frequently sold out weeks in advance. A few structured tour programs such as Elderhostel do include pre-arranged admission.
Be advised: if you
go down there,
|
||
|
|
||||
