added by archaeologs A large rock-cut hypogeum on Malta, which was constructed by the same population that built the Maltese temples, and is a complex of many small rock-cut chambers, on three different levels, linked by a series of halls, passages, and stairways. Many of the chambers are elaborately decorated, often with carved features imitating wooden structures such as beams and lintels; other chambers have painted decoration, usually on the ceilings. Most of the chambers had been used for burial and it has been calculated that some 7000 individuals were buried in the whole hypogeum, over a period of some centuries. The hypogeum may also have been used as a temple as some places without burials were set aside for ritual. Artifacts include highly decorated pottery and a series of female figurines. The earliest chambers date to the 5th millennium BC.
added by archaeologs An enormous rock-cut hypogeum of the prehistoric period in the outskirts of Valletta on the island of Malta. The hypogeum, which was constructed by the same population that built the Maltese temples, is a complex of many small rock-cut chambers, on three different levels, linked by a series of halls, passages and stairways. The hypogeum was excavated in a natural hill, and covers an area of cl 50 square metres with the lowest level some 10 metres below the surface of the rock. Many of the chambers are elaborately decorated, often with carved features imitating wooden structures such as beams and lintels; other chambers have painted decoration, usually on the ceilings. Most of the chambers had been used for burial and it has been calculated that some 7000 individuals were buried in the whole hypogeum, over a period of some centuries. The hypogeum may also have been used as a temple and it seems that some chambers, free of skeletal remains, were set aside for ritual. Finds from the hypogeum include much highly decorated pottery and a series of female figurines including one labelled the ‘Sleeping Lady’ representing a woman wearing a hinged skirt and reclining on a couch with her head on a pillow.
The Macmillan dictionary of archaeology, Ruth D. Whitehouse, 1983