The exhibition includes altars excavated from the Tarxien Temples that were probably used for animal sacrifices. Fertility at this time must have been very important since, apart from family growth, it also meant the reproduction of crops and animals. Given the corpulency of the statues it may be that the cult was tied to a fertility rite. 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. The representations vary in size and shape, with the largest being as tall as 2.7 m and the smallest 4 mm. 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 museum exhibits numerous corpulent statues representing human bodies unearthed from temple excavations, along with phallic representations.
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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.
These rooms show examples of architecture, human representation and other items that date from the Mġarr, Ġgantija, Saflieni and Tarxien phases of Maltese prehistory. 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).Įarly Neolithic Period Room (5200–3800 BC) Though the lease was to expire in 2002, on 12 August 1955 the Auberge was assigned to house Malta's National Museum. When Napoleon expelled the Knights from Malta in 1798 the Auberge was leased to the Malta Union Club. The Knights used it for business discussions, and as a refectory and banqueting hall, where they sat at long tables according to seniority. The Gran Salon on the first floor is the most ornate room in the building. The building was subject to various alterations during its history, including of which extensive reconstruction of the façade to integrate shops at ground floor level during the early seventeenth century. It was designed by the Maltese architect Girolamo Cassar, who directed the building of most important buildings in the early days of Valletta. The Auberge de Provence is a baroque building in Republic Street, Valletta, built for the Order of Saint John in 1571.