Three Heritage Malta sites will be open for free to the general public on Friday 29th June, a public holiday. The sites included in this open day are Hagar Qim Park (Hagar Qim, Mnajdra and Visitors Centre) in Qrendi and St Paul’s Catacombs in Rabat.
Hagar Qim Park will be open from 09.00hrs till 19.00hrs and several activities will be
held?throughout the day including a number of lectures by experts in the field. Visitors will also have the opportunity to participate in hands-on activities including pottery-making and food-preparation of a Neolithic meal. Additionally, artists present on site will explain how and in which manner life in the Neolithic is still inspiring art today.
Guided tours of the temples and surrounding landscape will also be given at scheduled times. Tours of Hagar Qim Park will start at 10.00hrs, 12.30hrs, 14.00hrs, and at 18.00hrs while tours of Mnajdra temples will commence at 12.00hrs, 16.00hrs, and at 18.30hrs. Two nature trails of the surrounding area are scheduled for 11.00hrs and at 15.00hrs.
On the day, Hagar Qim Park will also host a national seminar for the CARARE project: Connecting Archaeology and Architecture in Europeana. Heritage Malta, a project partner, is working towards publishing a large part of its collection of artefacts and sites online in the form of information, photographs, videos and, for the first time, even navigable 3D models.
Another site included within the open day is St Paul’s Catacombs, a complex of interconnected, underground Roman catacombs that were in use up to the 4th Century AD. These catacombs represent the earliest and largest archaeological evidence of Christianity in Malta. This site will be open from 09.00hrs till 17.00hrs and tours in Maltese will commence at 10.30hrs, 12.00hrs, 13.30hrs, 15.00hrs, and at 16.00hrs.
On the day, visitors to these three sites have the opportunity to become Heritage Malta members at a discount. Membership includes free entrance to Heritage Malta’s sites and museums for one year, 50% discount on the normal ticket price for admission to the Hypogeum, discounts on Heritage Malta’s publications, and invites to a number of events organised specifically for members throughout the year.
For more information call Heritage Malta on 2295 4000 or click on http://heritagemalta.wordpress.com/2012/06/19/hagar-qim-and-mnajdra-temples-open-day/
