15
CULTURE
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 DECEMBER 2018
MANY are aware of and
probably have visited the
megalithic Tarxien Temples
and Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum.
Yet possibly, fewer visitors
have been to the Kordin III
Temples which are located
close by.
Open only by appointment,
Kordin III Temples are the
sole survivors of three tem-
ple complexes that were
constructed on Corradino
Heights.
The presence of all these
prehistoric structures in this
zone attest the importance of
the harbour area during the
Neolithic Period.
The first archaeological
studies and excavations of the
three Kordin Temple com-
plexes took place between
the late 19th century and the
early 20th century.
In 1871, part of the Kordin II
Temples was destroyed by the
Royal Engineers to make way
for the ditch of the Corradino
Lines. In the 1950s, both Kor-
din I and Kordin II Temples
were virtually untraceable.
Whatever had survived was
completely demolished in the
1960s when an industrial es-
tate was built on the site.
Luckily, Kordin III Temples'
fate was different from that
of its counterparts. Although
the site received a direct hit
by a bomb during World War
II, it was preserved within a
walled enclosure.
Consisting of two temples,
one having two chambers
and the second having three
apses, Kordin III has its own
particular features.
One of these is the stone-
paved forecourt which is the
best preserved in all Mega-
lithic Temples.
Another unusual find in this
historical area is the massive
multiple quern which was
discovered lying across the
entrance to the left apse.
Kordin III is located just
outside the Corradino Lines,
between the Church of St An-
thony of Padua and MCAST
College in Paola.
More information about
these elusive temples is avail-
able on Heritage Malta's web-
site www.heritagemalta.org
The elusive Kordin III Temples
