Borġ in-Nadur Prehistoric Complex

Uniquely positioned on high ground between two valleys: Wied Żembaq and Wied Dalam, Borġ in-Nadur’s dramatic façade points to the Birżebbuġia harbour entrance. The site is conveniently located just 500m away from the prehistoric site of Għar Dalam and was in use during both the late Neolithic Period and the Bronze Age (3,000-700B.C.). During the latter period, the structure was adapted and used in a domestic setting.

Excavated in the 1920s by eminent female archaeologist Margaret Murray, the Neolithic area of Borġ in-Nadur yielded crucial information that helped our understanding of facets of Maltese prehistory, which had until then remained problematic, such as the differences between the Neolithic Period and the Bronze Age. Silos typically associated with the Bronze Age were found a short distance away from the Neolithic structure, both near the shore and on the ridge itself.

Excavations conducted by David Trump in the 1950s, between the Neolithic remains and a Bronze Age wall uncovered Bronze Age huts. The intriguing discovery confirmed suspicions that the ridge had been a Bronze Age fortified settlement. Those remains and items retrieved during the excavations are still being analysed by researchers, using techniques that were not available to archaeologists of decades past. Whilst at the Tarxien Temples, the Bronze age users buried the remains of the previous structures before readapting them to their own needs, at Borġ in-Nadur instead of covering the previous remains, the new Bronze Age users of the site seem to have discarded most of what they found before starting afresh. As a result, unfortunately, the information gathered about the site’s Neolithic period is very scant compared to the Bronze Age. Of interest is a shard of pottery showing that locals were reproducing Mycenaean pottery designs.

Tickets to be purchased from Ghar Dalam