SKYLAB, THE USA FIRST SPACE STATION, IS LAUNCHED

Today, The Grandma has received the wonderful visit of Joseph de Ca'th Lon, one of her closest friends.

Joseph loves Astronomy and they have been talking about Skylab, the US first space station that was launched on a day like today in 1973.

Skylab was the United States' first space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three trios of astronaut crews: Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4.

Operations included an orbital workshop, a solar observatory, Earth observation and hundreds of experiments. Skylab's orbit eventually decayed and it disintegrated in the atmosphere on July 11, 1979, scattering debris across the Indian Ocean and Western Australia.

As of 2024, Skylab was the only space station operated exclusively by the United States. A permanent station was planned starting in 1988, but its funding was canceled and U.S. participation shifted to the International Space Station in 1993.

Skylab had a mass of 90,610 kg with a 14,000 kg Apollo command and service module (CSM) attached and included a workshop, a solar observatory, and several hundred life science and physical science experiments. It was launched uncrewed into low Earth orbit by a Saturn V rocket modified to be similar to the Saturn INT-21, with the S-IVB third stage not available for propulsion because the orbital workshop was built out of it. This was the final flight for the rocket more commonly known for carrying the crewed Apollo Moon landing missions. Three subsequent missions delivered three-astronaut crews in the Apollo CSM launched by the smaller Saturn IB rocket.

More information: NASA

Skylab included the Apollo Telescope Mount (a multi-spectral solar observatory), a multiple docking adapter with two docking ports, an airlock module with extravehicular activity (EVA) hatches, and the orbital workshop, the main habitable space inside Skylab. Electrical power came from solar arrays and fuel cells in the docked Apollo CSM. The rear of the station included a large waste tank, propellant tanks for maneuvering jets, and a heat radiator. Astronauts conducted numerous experiments aboard Skylab during its operational life.

Prior to departure about 80 experiments were named, although they are also described as almost 300 separate investigations.

Experiments were divided into six broad categories:

-Life science -human physiology, biomedical research; circadian rhythms (mice, gnats)

-Solar physics and astronomy -sun observations (eight telescopes and separate instrumentation); Comet Kohoutek (Skylab 4); stellar observations; space physics

-Earth resources -mineral resources; geology; hurricanes; land and vegetation patterns

-Material science -welding, brazing, metal melting; crystal growth; water / fluid dynamics

-Student research -19 different student proposals. Several experiments were commended by the crew, including a dexterity experiment and a test of web-spinning by spiders in low gravity.

-Other -human adaptability, ability to work, dexterity; habitat design/operations.

Because the solar scientific airlock -one of two research airlocks- was unexpectedly occupied by the "parasol" that replaced the missing meteorite shield, a few experiments were instead installed outside with the telescopes during spacewalks or shifted to the Earth-facing scientific airlock.

More information: NASA

The space station is the most unique laboratory
we've ever built.
The reason we have it is to do research
on materials, people, medical matters,
pharmaceuticals - the possibilities are nearly endless.

John Glenn

MAYTE VISITS THE DALÍ THEATRE & MUSEUM IN FIGUERES

Today, The Grandma has received wonderful news from Mayte, her closer friend who has spent some days in Figueres and has visited the Dalí Theatre and Museum.

The Dalí Theatre and Museum, in Catalan Teatre-Museu Dalí, is a museum dedicated to the artist Salvador Dalí in his home town of Figueres, in Catalonia. 

Salvador Dalí lived there from 1984 to 1989, and is buried in a crypt below the stage.

The heart of the museum is the town's theatre that Dalí knew as a child. It was where one of the first public exhibitions of young Dalí's art was shown. The old theatre was burned during the Spanish Civil War and remained in a state of ruin.

In 1960, Dalí and the mayor of Figueres decided to rebuild it as a museum dedicated to the town's most famous son.

In 1968, the city council approved the plan, and construction began the following year.  The architects were Joaquim de Ros i Ramis and Alexandre Bonaterra. The museum opened on September 28, 1974, and it expanded through the mid-1980s. The museum now includes buildings and courtyards adjacent to the old theatre.

The museum displays the single largest and most diverse collection of works by Salvador Dalí, the core of which was from the artist's personal collection. In addition to Dalí paintings from all decades of his career, there are Dalí sculptures, three-dimensional collages, mechanical devices, and other curiosities from Dalí's imagination. A highlight is a three-dimensional anamorphic living-room installation with a Mae West Lips Sofa, a custom sofa that looks like the face of Mae West when viewed from a certain spot.

The museum also houses a small selection of works by other artists collected by Dalí, ranging from El Greco and Bougereau to Marcel Duchamp and John de Andrea,  In accordance with Dalí's specific request, a second-floor gallery is devoted to the work of his friend and fellow Catalan artist Antoni Pitxot, who also became director of the museum after Dalí's death.

A glass geodesic dome cupola crowns the stage of the old theatre, and Dalí is buried in a crypt below the stage floor.  The space formerly occupied by the audience has been transformed into a courtyard open to the sky, with Dionysian nude figurines standing in the old balcony windows.  A Dalí installation inside a full-sized car, inspired by Rainy Taxi (1938), is parked near the centre of the space.

The Dalí Theatre and Museum holds the largest collection of major works by Dalí in a single location. Some of the most important exhibited works are Port Alguer (1924), The Spectre of Sex-appeal (1932), Soft self-portrait with grilled bacon (1941), Poetry of America -the Cosmic Athletes (1943), Galarina (1944–45), Basket of Bread (1945), Leda Atomica (1949), Galatea of the Spheres (1952), Crist de la Tramuntana (1968), and Dalí Seen from the Back Painting Gala from the Back Eternalised by Six Virtual Corneas Provisionally Reflected by Six Real Mirrors (1972-73).

There is also a set of works created by the artist expressly for the Museum, including the Mae West room, the Palace of the Wind room, the Monument to Francesc Pujols, and the Cadillac plujós.

A collection of holographic art by Dalí, and a collection of jewellery he designed are on display. Another room contains a bathtub and a side table with an open drawer and a lamp, all of which Dalí had installed upside-down on the ceiling.

An extension to the museum building contains a room dedicated to optical illusions, stereographs, and anamorphic art created by Dalí. The artist's final works, including his last oil painting, The Swallow's Tail (1983), are on display here.

More information: Museu Teatre Dalí 

I want my museum to be a single block,
a labyrinth, a great surrealist object.
It will be totally theatrical museum.
The people who come to see it will leave
with the sensation of having had a theatrical dream.

Salvador Dalí

NORGE THE FIRST VESSEL TO FLY OVER THE NORTH POLE

Today, The Grandma has read about the Norge, the Italian-built airship which becomes the first vessel to fly over the North Pole, on a day like today in 1926.

The Norge was a semi-rigid Italian-built airship that carried out the first verified trip of any kind to the North Pole, an overflight on 12 May 1926.

It was also the first aircraft to fly over the polar ice cap between Europe and America. The expedition was the brainchild of polar explorer and expedition leader Roald Amundsen, the airship's designer and pilot Umberto Nobile and the wealthy American adventurer and explorer Lincoln Ellsworth who, along with the Aero Club of Norway, financed the trip, which was known as the Amundsen-Ellsworth 1926 Transpolar Flight.

Norge was the first N-class semi-rigid airship designed by Italian aeronautical engineer Umberto Nobile and its construction began in 1923. 

As part of the sales contract to the Aero Club, the airship was refitted for Arctic conditions. The pressurised envelope was reinforced with metal frames at the nose and tail, with a flexible tubular metal keel connecting the two. This was covered with fabric and used as storage and crew space. Three engine gondolas and the separate control cabin were attached to the bottom of the keel. Norge was the first Italian semi-rigid to be fitted with the cruciform tail fins first developed by the Schütte-Lanz company.

On 15 April 1924, the N-1 was carried away from its base at Ciampino aerodrome by a violent wind gust. Two soldiers and a mechanic, who were unable to let go from the mooring lines, were carried 300 feet and dashed to death.

In 1925, Amundsen telegraphed Nobile asking to meet him at Oslo, where he proposed an airship trip across the Arctic. With a contract in place, Nobile modified the already completed N-1 for flight in arctic weather. As the expedition was being financed by the Aero Club of Norway, the refitted N-1 was christened the Norge, in English, Norway.

On 29 March 1926 at a ceremony at Ciampino aerodrome the Norge was handed over to the Aero Club of Norway. The flight north was due to leave Rome on 6 April but was delayed due to strong winds and departed at 09:25 on 10 April. The ship arrived at RNAS Pulham Airship Station in England at 15:20; because of the bad weather was not moored in the hangar until 18:30. Delayed again by weather, the Norge left Pulham for Oslo at 11:45 on 12 April.

At 01:00 on 15 April 1926, the Norge left Ekeberg in Oslo for Gatchina near Leningrad; after a 17-hour flight, the airship arrived at 19:30, delayed by dense fog along the way. Following the arrival at Gatchina, Nobile announced that the Norge would remain in the airship shed for a week for engine overhaul and maintenance; this included the addition of collapsible rubber boats for emergency use. Although scheduled to leave Gatchina as soon as the weather allowed after 24 April, the departure was delayed another week as the mooring mast at King's Bay, Spitsbergen had not yet been completed due to adverse weather.

The Norge finally left Gatchina at 09:40 on 5 May to proceed to Vadsø in northern Norway, where the airship mast is still standing today. The expedition then crossed the Barents Sea to reach King's Bay at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. There Nobile met Richard Evelyn Byrd preparing his Fokker Trimotor for his North Pole attempt.

Nobile explained the Norge trip was to observe the uncharted sea between the Pole and Alaska where some believed land was; at the time he thought Robert Edwin Peary had already reached the pole. This would be the last stop before crossing the pole. The dirigible left Ny-Ålesund for the final stretch across the polar ice on 11 May at 9:55.

The 16-man expedition included Amundsen, the expedition leader and navigator; Nobile, the dirigible's designer and pilot; Lincoln Ellsworth, American outdoorsman and expedition sponsor, and polar explorer Oscar Wisting who served as helmsman. Other crew members were 1st Lt. Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen, navigator; 1st Lt. Emil Horgen, elevatorman; Capt. Birger Gottwaldt, radio expert, Dr Finn Malmgren of Uppsala University, meteorologist; Fredrik Ramm, journalist; Frithjof Storm-Johnsen, radioman; Flying Lt. Oscar Omdal, flight engineer; Natale Cecioni, chief mechanic; Renato Alessandrini, rigger; Ettore Arduino, Attilio Caratti and Vincenzo Pomella, mechanics. Nobile's little dog, Titina, also came aboard as mascot.

On 12 May at 01:25 (GMT) the Norge reached the North Pole, at which point the Norwegian, American and Italian flags were dropped from the airship onto the ice.

On 14 May, the Norge reached the Inupiat village of Teller, Alaska, where in view of worsening weather, the decision was made to land there rather than continue on to Nome, approximately 70 miles away. The airship was reportedly damaged somehow during the landing and was dismantled and shipped back to Italy.

The three previous claims to have arrived at the North Pole -by Frederick Cook in 1908, Robert Peary in 1909, and Richard E. Byrd in 1926 (just a few days before the Norge)- are all disputed as being either of dubious accuracy or outright fraud. Some of those disputing these earlier claims therefore consider the crew of the Norge to be the first verified explorers to have reached the North Pole.

More information: Ocean Sky Journal

We must always remember
with gratitude and admiration
 the first sailors who steered their vessels
through storms and mists,
and increased our knowledge
of the lands of ice in the South.

Roald Amundsen

D-DAY, THE FOSTERS & A2 CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH EXAM

Today, The Fosters & The Grandma are in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. After some days enjoying Malta, the D-Day has arrived and The Fosters have an interesting adventure to live: an A2 Cambridge English Exam.

 

Good luck family! You are the best!

 

You have already won this game.

 

Fosters forever!

 

Cambridge Assessment English or Cambridge English develops and produces Cambridge English Qualifications and the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

The organisation contributed to the development of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), the standard used around the world to benchmark language skills, and its qualifications and tests are aligned with CEFR levels.

Cambridge Assessment English is part of Cambridge Assessment, a non-teaching department of the University of Cambridge which merged with Cambridge University Press to form Cambridge University Press & Assessment in August 2021.

Each Cambridge English Qualifications focuses on a level of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).

English qualifications designed for adult learners. A2 Key, B1 Preliminary and B2 First have the same exam format as the schools versions of these qualifications, but use different topics and content suited to adult learners.

In the 1980s Cambridge Assessment English, the British Council and IDP Education formed the international IELTS partnership which delivers the IELTS tests.

More information: Cambridge English

In 2010 Cambridge Assessment English and the English Language Institute Testing and Certificate Division of the University of Michigan agreed to form a not-for-profit collaboration known as CaMLA (Cambridge Michigan Language Assessments). Cambridge Assessment English owns 65% of the venture.

Since 2011 Cambridge Exams Publishing, a partnership between Cambridge Assessment English and the English Language Teaching (ELT) business of Cambridge University Press, develops official Cambridge preparation materials for Cambridge English and IELTS exams.

In 2013 Cambridge Assessment English formed a joint venture with the Box Hill Institute to deliver the Occupational English Test, known as OET.

In 2019 Cambridge Assessment English acquired English Language iTutoring (ELiT), an artificial intelligence developed off technology from the University of Cambridge, to support new English language assessment products.

Cambridge Assessment English was involved in the early development of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and all Cambridge English qualifications and tests are aligned with the levels described by the CEFR.

Each Cambridge English Qualification targets specific CEFR levels but the exam also contains test material at the adjacent levels. For example B2 First is aimed at B2, but there are also test items that cover B1 and C1. This allows for inferences to be drawn about candidates’ abilities if they are a level below or above the one targeted. Candidates are encouraged to take the exam most suitable to their needs and level of ability.

More information: Cambridge English

In 1913 the exam could be taken in Cambridge or London, for a fee of £3 (approximately £293 in 2012 prices). The exam lasted 12 hours and included:

-Translation from English into French or German: 2 hours.

-Translation from French or German into English, and English Grammar: 2.5 hours.

-English Essay: 2 hours.

-English Literature: 3 hours.

-English Phonetics: 1.5 hours.

-Oral test: dictation (30 minutes); reading aloud and conversation (30 minutes).

The main influence behind the design of the exam was the grammar-translation teaching approach, which aims to establish reading knowledge, rather than ability to communicate in the language.

In 1913, the first requirement for CPE candidates was to translate texts. Translation remained prominent in foreign language teaching up until the 1960s. It was a core part of CPE until 1975 and an optional part until 1989.

However, CPE was also influenced by Henry Sweet and his book published in 1900: A Practical Study of Languages: A Guide for Teachers and Learners, which argued that the most natural method of teaching languages was through conversation. Due to this influence, speaking was part of Cambridge English exams from the very beginning.

-1209. University of Cambridge founded.

-1534. Cambridge University Press founded.

-1858. University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES) founded.

-1913. Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) introduced. Now known as C2 Proficiency.

-1939. Lower Certificate in English (LCE) introduced. Renamed First Certificate in English (FCE) in 1975 and now known as B2 First.

-1941. Joint agreement with the British Council-British Council centres established.

-1943-1947. Preliminary English Test (PET) introduced. It was reintroduced in 1980 and is now known as B1 Preliminary.

-1971. Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) initiated.

-1988. The Royal Society of Arts (RSA) Examination Board becomes part of UCLES.

-1989. Specialist EFL research and evaluation unit established.

-1989. IELTS launched. A simplified and shortened version of ELTS launched in 1980.

-1990. Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) founded.

-1991. Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) introduced. Now known as C1 Advanced.

-1993. Business English Certificates (BEC) launched.

-1994. Key English Test (KET) introduced. Now known as A2 Key.

-1995. University of Oxford Delegacy of Local Examinations (UODLE) becomes part of UCLES

-1997. Young Learner English Tests (YLE) introduced. Now known as Pre-A1 Starter, A1 Movers, and A2 Flyers.

-1997. BULATS launched.

-2001. CEFR published.

-2002. UCLES EFL renamed University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL).

-2002. One million Cambridge ESOL exam candidates.

-2010. CaMLA established (Cambridge Michigan Language Assessments).

-2011. Cambridge Exams Publishing joint venture with Cambridge University Press established.

-2013. Cambridge ESOL renamed Cambridge English Language Assessment.

-2015. Cambridge English Scale introduced.

-2016. Linguaskill reading and listening introduced.

-2016. Linguaskill writing introduced.

-2017. Cambridge English Language Assessment renamed Cambridge Assessment English.

-2020. The University of Cambridge announces it plans to merge two of its non-teaching departments, Cambridge Assessment and Cambridge University Press.

-2021. Cambridge Assessment and Cambridge University Press merge to become Cambridge University Press & Assessment.

More information: Cambridge English

Cambridge is heaven, I am convinced
it is the nicest place in the world to live.
As you walk round, most people look incredibly bright,
as if they are probably off to win a Nobel prize.

Sophie Hannah

HAL SAFLIENI HYPOGEUM, PREHISTORIC CAVES IN PAOLA

After being astonished with the Sleeping Lady and the Fat Lady, Joseph de Ca'th Lon and The Grandma have visited the Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni in Paola, place where it was found.

Joseph is a great expert in History and Anthropology and The Grandma adores ruins and stones. 

It has been an interesting visit that has evocated them another place: The Prehistoric Mines of Gavà in El Baix Llobregat, Barcelona.

The Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni is a Neolithic subterranean structure dating to the Saflieni phase (3300-3000 BC) in Maltese prehistory, located in Paola. It is often simply referred to as the Hypogeum, literally meaning underground in Greek. 

The Hypogeum is thought to have been a sanctuary and necropolis, with the remains of more than 7,000 individuals documented by archeologists, and is among the best preserved examples of the Maltese temple building culture that also produced the Megalithic Temples and Xagħra Stone Circle.

 

More information: Heritage Malta

 

The Hypogeum was discovered by accident in 1902 when workers cutting cisterns for a new housing development broke through its roof. The workers tried to hide the temple at first, but eventually it was found.

 

The study of the structure was first conducted by Manuel Magri, who directed the excavations on behalf of the Museums Committee, starting from November 1903. During the excavations, a portion of the contents of the Hypogeum, including grave goods and human remains, were emptied out and discarded without being properly catalogued. To confound things further, Magri died in 1907 while conducting missionary work in Tunisia and his report on the Hypogeum was lost.

Excavation continued under Sir Themistocles Zammit, who attempted to salvage what he could. Zammit began publishing a series of reports in 1910 and continued excavating until 1911, depositing his findings at the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta. The Hypogeum was first opened to visitors in 1908 while the excavations were ongoing.

Later archeological excavations indicate there was once a surface shrine that marked the entrance to the Hypogeum, with its subsequent destruction likely shielding the lower structure from discovery for thousands of years.

 

More information: UNESCO

The underground structure may have originated from a natural cave, expanded over time by cutting directly into the rock with crude tools including antlers, flint, chert and obsidian. Burial chambers in the upper level of the Hypogeum date from the early phases of the Maltese Temple Period, with lower chambers dating from later.

The site may have first been used as early as 4000 BC, and was likely used until around 2500 BC, based on pottery sample analysis and examination of human remains.

The temple structure uses a careful direction of light from the surface to penetrate into the lower chambers, with intricate patterns painted on portions of the ceiling with red ocher, following motifs of spots, spirals and honeycombs.

One of the main chambers, called The Holy of Holies, appears to be oriented such that light from the winter solstice illuminated its facade from the original opening above. A resonance niche cut in the middle chamber, called the Oracle Room, was possibly designed to project chanting or drumming throughout the rest of the Hypogeum.

 

More information: Smitsonian

A broad range of objects were recovered from the site, including intricately decorated pottery vessels, stone and clay beads, shell buttons, amulets, axe-heads, and carved figures depicting humans and animals. 

The most notable discovery was the Sleeping Lady, a clay figure thought to represent a mother goddess. The figures range from abstract to realistic in style, with major themes thought to be related to veneration of the dead and spiritual transformation. Complex artistic techniques are also represented, as in the case of a single large pottery bowl which utilized both naturalistic and stylized themes, with one side realistically depicting bovines, pigs and goats, and the other side representing hatched animals hidden within complex geometric patterns.

The remains of some 7,000 individuals were found in the Hypogeum, and though many of the bones were lost early in excavation, most of the skulls were deposited at the National Museum. 

A small percentage of the skulls have an abnormal cranial elongation, similar to priestly skulls from Ancient Egypt, fueling speculation about the people who occupied the Hypogeum, and their practices and beliefs.

More information: Malta Uncovered

The Hypogeum is constructed entirely underground and consists of three superimposed levels hewn into soft globigerina limestone, with its halls and chambers interconnected through a labyrinthine series of steps, lintels and doorways. 

The upper level is thought to have been occupied first, with the middle and lowers levels expanded and excavated later. Some of the middle chambers appear to share stylistic characteristics with the contemporaneous Megalithic Temples found across Malta.

The first level is only ten metres below the surface, and it is very similar to tombs found in Xemxija, near St. Paul's Bay. Some rooms are natural caves which were later artificially extended. This level consists of many chambers, some of which were used for burial.

The second level is a later expansion, with the rock hoisted up to the surface by Cyclopean rigging. This level features several noted rooms: Main Chamber, Oracle Room, Decorated Room and Holy of Holies.

The lower story contained no bones or offerings, only water. It strongly suggests storage, probably of grain.

More information: Atlas Obscura

 

 

 Kliem ix-xih zomm fih.

 The words of the old man you should trust.

Maltese Proverb

MALTA'S NATIONAL IDENTITY, THE TARXIEN TEMPLES

Joseph de Ca'th Lon loves Archaeology, History and Anthropology. Malta is a great opportunity to enjoy the most amazing Megalithic Temples and discover the past of the Humanity. Today, he's visiting the Tarxien Temples with The Grandma.

The Tarxien Temples are an archaeological complex in Tarxien. They date to approximately 3150 BC.

 

The site was accepted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 along with the other Megalithic temples on the island of Malta. The Tarxien consist of three separate, but attached, temple structures. The main entrance is a reconstruction dating from 1956, when the whole site was restored. At the same time, many of the decorated slabs discovered on site were relocated indoors for protection at the Museum of Archaeology in Valletta.

 

More information: UNESCO

The first temple has been dated to approximately 3100 BC and is the most elaborately decorated of the temples of Malta. The middle temple dates to about 3000 BC, and is unique in that, unlike the rest of the Maltese temples, it has three pairs of apses instead of the usual two.The east temple is dated at around 3100 BC. The remains of another temple, smaller, and older, having been dated to 3250 BC, are visible further towards the east.

Of particular interest at the temple site is the rich and intricate stonework, which includes depictions of domestic animals carved in relief, altars, and screens decorated with spiral designs and other patterns.

 

Demonstrative of the skill of the builders is a chamber set into the thickness of the wall between the South and Central temples and containing a relief showing a bull and a sow. Excavation of the site reveals that it was used extensively for rituals, which probably involved animal sacrifice. Especially interesting is that Tarxien provides rare insight into how the megaliths were constructed: stone rollers were left outside the South temple.

 

More information: Heritage Malta

 

Additionally, evidence of cremation has been found at the center of the South temple, which is an indicator that the site was reused as a Bronze Age cremation cemetery.

The large stone blocks were discovered in 1914 by local farmers ploughing a field. After the accidental discovery of the nearby Tarxien hypogeum in 1913, the proprietor of the land underneath which the temples were buried figured that the large stones that were continually struck by workers' ploughs may also have had some archaeological value.

On that notion, he contacted the director of the National Museum, Sir Themistocles Zammit, who began to dig even on his first inspection of the site, where he discovered the center of the temple compound. It was not long before Zammit found himself standing in what appeared to be an apse formed by a semicircle of enormous hewn stones.

 

More information: Malta Uncovered

Over the course of three years, Zammit enlisted the help of local farmers and townspeople for an excavation project of unprecedented scale in Malta. 

By 1920, Zammit had identified and carried out restoration work on five separate but interconnected temples, all yielding a remarkable collection of artifacts, including the famous Fat Lady statue, a representation of a Mother Goddess or a fertility charm, according to the Malta Archaeological Museum, the Fat Lady statue is sexless, and could represent either a man or a woman, and several unique examples of prehistoric relief, including ships.

 

The temples were included on the Antiquities List of 1925. Further excavations at the temples were conducted in the post-World War II period under the directorship of Dr. J.G. Baldacchino.

 

More information: Ancient Origins

Protective tent-like shelters, similar to those at Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra, were built around the Tarxien Temples in 2015, and were completed in December of that year.

The discovery of the complex did much to further Malta's national identity, solidly confirming the existence of a thriving ancient culture on the island. 

Also, the general interest aroused by the finds engendered for the first time a public concern for the protection of Malta's historical treasures, including a need for management of the sites, the promulgation of laws, and other measures to protect and preserve monuments. 

At the same time, Sir Themistocles' thorough method in excavating the site paved the way for a new scientific approach to archaeology.

More information: Malta Info Guide

 

Ruins, for me, are the beginning. 

With the debris, you can construct new ideas. 

They are symbols of a beginning. 

Anselm Kiefer

VISITING IS-SIGGIEWI, A TRADITIONAL MALTESE VILLAGE

The Grandma wants to visit Is-Siġġiewi, a traditional wonderful Maltese village because she wants to enjoy its local feast dedicated to Saint Nicholas. She is enjoying this historic place and its amazing feast, a mix of religion and local tradition.

Siġġiewi, in Maltese Is-Siġġiewi, also called by its title Città Ferdinand, is a city and a local council in the Southern Region. It is the third largest council in Malta by surface area, after Rabat and Mellieħa respectively. It is situated on a plateau, a few kilometres away from Mdina, the ancient capital city of Malta, and 10 kilometres away from Valletta, the contemporary capital.

Until several decades ago, most of the population was employed in the fields which surround the village. In 1993, the city adopted the motto Labore et Virtute.

In its demographic and topographical formation, Siġġiewi followed a pattern common to other villages in Malta. Before the arrival of the Order of St John in 1530, there were other thriving hamlets in the area. Little by little Ħal Xluq, Ħal Kbir, Ħal Niklusi and Ħal Qdieri were absorbed in Siġġiewi and today, only their secluded chapels remind us of their former existence.

 

More information: My Guide Malta

The origins of the name Siġġiewi are unknown. The name is unique and bears no resemblance to well-known words. Siġġiewi may be a corruption of an old name. 

The areas around Siġġiewi were inhabited since the Maltese islands were occupied by the first farmers during the Neolithic period. 

The Neolithic sites of Hagar Qim and Mnajdra (3600-2500 BC) are within walking distance of the village. Also within easy reach of the village are the Bronze Age settlement of Wardija ta’ San Gorg, almost at the southern tail end of Dingli Cliffs, and the Bronze Age cart-ruts at ix-Xaghra ta’ Ghar il-Kbir (1500-750/800 BC).

An early Phoenician tomb was located in the area, but small Phoenician/Punic cemeteries are known on the hill top of tal-Gholja and at ix-Xaghra ta’ Ghar il-kbir. In numerous places, Roman pottery scatters are often encountered, suggesting that the environs of Siġġiewi were also occupied during the Roman occupation of Malta and Gozo. A series of early Christian catacombs are located close to Maghlaq valley. One of these, published in a number of sources, has been intentionally buried under a field.

Siġġiewi's patron saint, Saint Nicholas, is perhaps one of the most popular saints in Byzantine hagiography.

The survival of the saint's veneration may suggest that following the end of the catacomb era, some of Malta's villages may have retained old traditions that would very comfortably fall within western and eastern Christian domains. Hundreds of place names are known from various fields and locations around Siġġiewi.

 

More information: Malta 

These names are of Semitic character, but are of an unknown age having been recorded in notarial deeds only in the Late Middle Ages. Some of these places developed into hamlets. Others may have supported small communities that were never recorded. 

These hamlets would later dwindle in importance. The depopulation of the Maltese rural areas during the Great Siege of 1565 hastened the end of small hamlets around Malta and Gozo. 

The arrival of the Order of St John in Malta in 1530, also ushered in new economic dynamics which made the new urban areas and especially the new city of Valletta more attractive than isolated villages. Several buildings in Siggiewi date back to Hospitaller rule, including the Armoury.

Siggiewi itself reflects these new concerns. Its growth may have been at the expense of neighbouring hamlets. But market agglomeration around Siġġiewi, a promontory which stands between two important valleys and is therefore defensible, also encouraged geo-demographic changes.

On 30 December 1797, after a formal request by Don Salvatore Curso, on behalf of his parishioners, Grand Master Ferdinand Von Hompesch instituted the village as a city calling it after his name, Città Ferdinand.

 

More information: Research Gate

The ruins of the former parish church, dedicated to St Nicholas of Bari are still visible today. Lately, great restoration works have been carried out and retrieved its old glory. The baroque parish church, dedicated to the same saint, was erected by the villagers who raised the necessary funds between the years 1676 to 1693. It was designed by the Maltese architect, Lorenzo Gafà but underwent some changes throughout the years. The portico and naves were added by Professor Nicola Żammit in the latter half of the 19th century.

 

The titular painting in the church is by the artist Mattia Preti, Il calabrese, who was also responsible for the painting on the vault of St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta. The wooden statue which is carried in procession in the city feast day, the last Sunday of June, was sculpturd by Pietro Felici in 1736.

Fours years earlier, in 1732, the same sculptor had produced the stone statue which still stands in the centre of the square. On its pedestal there is a prayer in Latin which implores the saint to bless the fields which the faithful laboriously till.

From Siġġiewi, you can look upon the Inquisitor's summer palace, built by inquisitor Onorato Visconti in 1625 and renovated by inquisitor Angelo Dorini in 1763. Today it is the Maltese Prime Minister's official residence. The palace of Grand Master Verdalle is one of the residences of the Presidents of the Republic, called Verdala Palace. Adjoining this palace one finds the famous Buskett, a small semi-wild woodland which Grand Masters such as De Valette used as hunting grounds.

Within the local council of Siġġiewi lies Għar Lapsi, Fawwarra, Girgenti, Ta' Kandja and the Hill of Laferla Cross. From there the islet of Filfla can be seen on the horizon. The village stands on a flat plateau flanked by two relatively deep valleys: Wied il-Hesri and Wied Xkora.

 

More information: Malta Falconry Centre

There are several niches in the old part of the city, some of which date back to the middle of the 17th century and are a sign of devotion as well as an architectural decoration. 

A number of small chapels are found within the boundaries of Siġġiewi, including that dedicated to Our Lady of Providence, which is a notable example of Maltese Baroque architecture.

Siġġiewi also celebrates its Feast in the last week of June, in honour of Saint Nicholas, with band marches around the streets, aerial fireworks and catherine wheels, street decorations and celebrations in the main church. The Limestone Heritage Park & Gardens is also one of the attractions situated is a renovated quarry, offering an informative tour about Malta's history set in stone. Maltese summer folklore evening also take place between May and October. Malta Falconry Centre lies just outside the city.

Every village in Malta celebrates the local church's patron saint with a major festa lasting a week or nine days. When the main Saint Nicholas festa in Siġġiewi is held the last Sunday in June, the Church of Saint Nicholas is beautifully decorated and lit, inside and out. The whole village, houses and all, are festooned with garlands, banners and flags. Festival week is also a time for visiting and hospitality as people come from all over Malta to enjoy the celebration.

Brass bands march and play in competition throughout the week. The oldest Siġġiewi band, St. Nicholas Band Club, located on St. Nicholas Square, and the Siġġiewi Festival Brass Band and Social Club, organized in the 1990s, both make the Siggiewi St. Nicholas feast one of Malta's most enjoyable. As with most festivals, food is important. Kiosks sell ice cream, hot dogs, burgers, kebobs, chips and more. Special sweets include mgaret, pastry stuffed with dates, and white nougat with almonds or peanuts.

 

More information: Malta International Organ Festival

The week features many processions: one night features relics, another, St. Nicholas statue, and religious services. Solemn Mass with Gregorian chant, Solemn Te Deum, Solemn Novena with Hymns to St. Nicholas, and Solemn Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, are all part of the week-long celebration. The long homily features rhyming words and may be evaluated by how many Latin quotations or how many times St. Nicholas' name is used.

In the evening before the Sunday feast day a major procession with brass bands goes through the village. The celebrations also feature a sizeable fireworks display. 

On Sunday the large St. Nicholas statue comes out of the church go in procession through the village. This lively procession has rich music, incense, confetti thrown by bystanders, and palm branches and flowers. 

On returning to the church the statue is welcomed with clapping, crying and singing. Inside the church the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament follows. It is a truly beautiful climax to the week of festivity. There is competition among Malta villages to have the most spectacular feast. So each town strives to have the most extravagant fireworks and the most accomplished musicians. 

Festival organizers collect significant funds so they can add to their accumulation of statues, flags and banners. These rivalries go back a long time, when the churches were built, parishioners gave generously to build the most beautiful and rich churches they could afford. Churches are prominently placed and can often be seen for miles.

More information: St. Nicholas Centre

 

 

 The giver of every good and perfect gift has called 

upon us to mimic Gods giving, by grace, 

through faith, and this is not of ourselves.
 

St. Nicholas of Myra

VISITING THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ARCHAEOLOGY

Today, The Grandma has received a great surprised. Joseph de Ca'th Lon has arrived to Valetta to join her in her searching of Corto Maltese.

 

Joseph, a great expert in archaeology, has taken profit of his arrival to go to the National Museum of Archaeology with The Grandma to know the Maltese history, especially the Prehistorical age, and see the Sleeping Lady of Malta, a national treasure.

The National Museum of Archaeology is a Maltese museum of prehistoric artifacts, located in Valletta. It is managed by Heritage Malta.

The National Museum of Archaeology is housed in the Auberge de Provence, in Republic Street, Valletta. The building, an example of fine Baroque architecture, was built in 1571 and followed a plan by local architect Ġilormu Cassar, who directed the building of most important buildings in the early days of Valletta. The building’s façade is imprinted with Mannerist characteristics usually associated with Cassar.

The Auberge de Provence was house to the Knights of the Order of St John originating from Provence, and displays beautiful architectural features. Of particular note is the Grand Salon, with its richly painted walls and wooden beamed ceiling.

The Auberge de Provence was opened as the National Museum in 1958 by Agatha Barbara, then the Minister of Education. 

The museum originally included the archaeological collection on the ground floor and fine arts on the first floor. The first curator was Captain Charles G. Zammit, the son of the eminent Maltese archaeologist Sir Themistocles Zammit.

The Grand Salon on the first floor is the most ornate room in the building. The Knights used it for business discussions, and as a refectory and banqueting hall, where they sat at long tables according to seniority.

When Napoleon expelled the Knights from Malta in 1798 the Auberge was leased to the Malta Union Club. Though the lease was to expire in 2002, on 12 August 1955 the Auberge was assigned to house Malta's National Museum.

In 1974, the fine arts collection was moved to the National Museum of Fine Arts, newly established in the Admiralty House building in South Street, Valletta, and the National Museum was renamed the National Museum for Archaeology.

 

More info: Maltese History & Heritage

The museum was refurbished and upgraded in 1998. Artifacts were placed in climate-controlled displays so that the exhibition met with current conservation standards. The Museum exhibits a spectacular range of artefacts dating back to Malta’s Neolithic Period (5000 BC) up to the Phoenician Period (400 BC). On display are the earliest tools used by the prehistoric people to facilitate their daily tasks and representations of animal and human figures; elements which not only show the great artistic skills of the first dwellers of the island but also gives us an insight of their daily lives.

 

Highlights include the Sleeping Lady, from the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, the Venus of Malta, from Ħaġar Qim, bronze daggers, recovered from the Bronze Age layers at Tarxien Temples, the Horus & Anubis pendant and the anthropomorphic sarcophagus, both belonging to the Phoenician Period.

The Museum provides the visitor with a good introduction to the prehistory and early history of the Maltese Island and acts as a catalyst to the other archaeological sites in Malta.

 

Works are currently in progress to include another hall dedicated to the Punic period and others dedicated to the Roman and Byzantine periods in Malta.

There are some important reasons to visit this amazing museum:

-There are unique display of renowned valuable artefacts such as the Sleeping Lady, the Venus of Malta and the Horus and Anubis pendant.

-It serves as a good introduction to prehistory and early history in Malta.

-It's housed in one of the most elaborately decorated Baroque buildings in Valletta.

 

-It puts Malta’s archaeological sites in context.

The ground floor of the museum exhibits prehistoric artefacts from the Maltese islands, from the Għar Dalam phase (5200 BC), the earliest appearance of settlement on the island, up to the Tarxien phase (2500 BC).

 

The museum is divided in two important periods: the Early Neolithic Period Room (5200–3800 BC) and the Temple Period Rooms (3800–2500 BC).

The Early Neolithic Period Room (5200–3800 BC) exhibits artifacts from the early Neolithic Period, including decorated pottery from the Għar Dalam, Grey Skorba, Red Skorba and Żebbuġ phases. Of particular importance are the Red Skorba figurines, the earliest local representations of the human figure and the predecessors of the statues of later temple periods. The exhibition features a reconstruction of the rock-cut tombs that were a characteristic of the early Neolithic period in Malta. Rock-cut tombs reached their climax in burials like the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum and the Xagħra Stone Circle; photographs of both sites are displayed in the museum.

The Temple Period Rooms (3800–2500 BC) show examples of architecture, human representation and other items that date from the Mġarr, Ġgantija, Saflieni and Tarxien phases of Maltese prehistory. The temples that were built at this time are considered to be the world’s first free standing monuments and are listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

 

More information: Heritage Malta

The museum exhibits numerous corpulent statues representing human bodies unearthed from temple excavations, along with phallic representations. 

Until recently the statues were called Mother Goddesses, Fat Ladies, Deities and Priests among other names, but it is now argued that these statues were probably asexual and represented a human being, irrespective of whether it was male or female. The representations vary in size and shape, with the largest being as tall as 2.7 m and the smallest 4 mm.

The discovery of temple altars and corpulent human representations suggests that some type of cult existed on the islands of Malta and Gozo in prehistory. Given the corpulency of the statues it may be that the cult was tied to a fertility rite. Fertility at this time must have been very important since, apart from family growth, it also meant the reproduction of crops and animals.

The exhibition includes altars excavated from the Tarxien Temples that were probably used for animal sacrifices. They were brought to the museum for conservation reasons.

 

More information: Jaunting Jen

 

Iż-żmien hu l-akbar għalliem.
Time is the greatest teacher. 

Maltese Proverbs