The Hal Saflieni Hypogeum and the mysteriously disappeared elongated skulls
There are many ancient megalithic structures on the island of Malta. One of them is the astonishing Hal Saflieni Hypogeum, a magnificent underground structure more than 5 thousand years old. The Hypogeum may be the oldest (and perhaps only) underground prehistoric temple in the world.
The discovery of the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum occurred by chance in 1902, when some workers who were cutting cisterns for new homes broke the ceiling.
When the archaeologists began their exploration they found themselves faced with a massive underground structure developed on three levels dug into the rock. It has been estimated that to carry out the work it was necessary to remove more than 2 thousand tons of stone.
The study of the structure was entrusted to Father Manuel Magri of the Society of Jesus, who directed the excavations on behalf of the Museums Committee. Magri died in 1907, before the publication of the report on the excavations. Following Magri's unexpected death, excavations resumed under the control of Sir Themistocles Zammit.
The Hal Saflieni Hypogeum is an underground structure excavated between 3600 and 2500 BC. It is thought to have originally been a sanctuary, but later became a necropolis in prehistoric times. It is the only known underground prehistoric temple in the world. Today the entire structure is underground, but in the past the main entrance was on the surface.
Numerous red ocher decorations, spiral shapes, pentagons, floral motifs and even the silhouette of a bull were found on the walls of the hypogeum.
Furthermore, some tombs, rooms with unknown functions and a 'main chamber', a circular room where the statue of a woman, the so-called "Sleeping Lady", was found inside.
Together with the statue of the sleeping Juno woman, other figures were found inside the hypogeum, all characterized by "abundant shapes". In other words, the figures all appear to be extremely obese, and scientists can't say why.
Other rooms include the Decorated Room, the Holy of Holies and the Oracle Room, a rectangular-shaped room with very peculiar acoustic characteristics: everything said in this room is amplified and heard throughout the hypogeum! Furthermore, some research seems to have shown that the acoustic properties of reverberation would have consequences on human emotions.
The use of non-linear fractal resonances that appears in the acoustic properties of the Hypogeum is something that modern science has only just begun to investigate and the results show that these types of frequencies even have the ability to alter matter.
Finally, outside the Oracle Room, on the right, there is a large circular room, richly decorated with geometric motifs. On the wall on the right there is a drawing of a human hand carved into the rock (Agius).
Elongated skulls
One of the most interesting aspects of the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum lies in the discovery of over 7 thousand skeletons piled up inside it. These skeletons had a unique feature: they all had elongated skulls. It is known that some of these skulls were exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Valletta.
However, after 1985, all the skulls found in the Hypogeum, together with other skulls found at other ancient sites on Malta, disappeared without a trace, never to be recovered.
The only evidence of these finds and their anomaly is found in the photos of Dr. Anton Mifsud and his colleague Dr. Charles Savona Ventura, who published a book where the anomalies of the skulls were explained in detail, including: elongation, partitions abnormally developed temporalis and abnormal occipital bones.
There is also testimony reported in an article written in 1920 in National Geographic magazine, which describes the first inhabitants of Malta as a people with elongated skulls:
From an examination of Stone Age skeletons, it appears that the first inhabitants of Malta were a race of people with a long skull and shorter average height, similar to the first peoples of Egypt, who spread westwards, along the northern coast of Africa. Some arrived on Malta and Sicily, others in Sardinia and Spain. (National Geographic Magazine, January-June, 1920, Volume XXXVII ).
The fact that the remains of such an important discovery have disappeared into thin air creates some suspicion. It seems that someone wants to keep the research results confidential, preventing them from becoming public knowledge. But why?
A population of people with elongated skulls, a chamber with incredible acoustic properties and the mysterious disappearance of 7 thousand skulls suggest that something very special happened in this place. But very few people seem to know what happened.
