Investigation into the possible astronomical alignments of the Copper Age Temples in Malta

Abstract

The question of significant alignments of the Maltese Copper Age Temples has been treated by some writers who have arrived at conflicting conclusions. J.D. Evans and R. Laferla both agreed that the orientations of the temples were not important however they did not specifically state the relevant data on which their conclusions were based. Other authors claimed otherwise but again the evidence they provided was either tantalizing without really being conclusive or based on incorrect interpretation of flimsy data. In view of these conflicting ideas we decided to take a first hand look at the available evidence and to attempt to answer an interesting question, viz. Are the Maltese temples astronomically oriented? Our approach basically consisted of two steps: (a) the determination of the azimuths and hence the declinations of the main axes and of other important passages of the temples; and (b) the correlation of these orientations with significant sun, moon and star positions calculated for the age of the temples.