Heritage Malta marks European Archaeology Days with three exciting events

Heritage Malta is marking European Archaeology Days – which are held in the 47
member countries of the Council of Europe – with three exciting events between the
18th and the 21st of June. There will be guided tours to celebrate the Summer Solstice,
informal question and answer sessions with a senior curator, and a special opening of
the St Augustine’s Catacombs.

The Summer Solstice guided tours will take place at sunrise at Mnajdra and Ħaġar Qim.
Tours at Mnajdra will be held on the 19th, 20th and 21st of June, while tours at Ħaġar
Qim will be on the 20th and 21st of June. Both sets of tours will enable visitors to watch
the annual spectacle of the first rays of the rising sun heralding the start of a new
summer.

Tickets for Mnajdra are at €30 each, with Heritage Malta members paying €20 each. For
the Ħaġar Qim event tickets are at €25 each, with a reduced price of €15 for members.
Ticket holders are to meet at 5:30am outside the Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra Visitor Centre.

The informal question and answer sessions will be held on Friday 18th June at the
National Museum of Archaeology. During these sessions, entitled ‘Ask the Curator’,
Senior Curator Sharon Sultana will answer any questions posed by participants as they
view select artefacts from the Maltese Neolithic period and visit the intriguing Alien
Headaches exhibition displaying the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum skulls.
There will be two sessions – one in Maltese at 10am and another one in English at 2pm.
Tickets cost €5 per person.

The special opening of the St Augustine’s Catacombs will be on Sunday 20th June. This is
an opportunity not to be missed, as this site is usually closed to the public. The St
Augustine’s Catacombs, just a stone’s throw away from the St Paul’s Catacombs in
Rabat, are a group of small, interconnected hypogea, each with its own distinct features.

There will be two tours of the catacombs – one in Maltese at 10am and another one in
English at noon. Tickets cost €5 per person.

Tickets for the European Archaeology Days events may be purchased from all Heritage
Malta sites and museums and from the Heritage Malta website www.heritagemalta.org.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the number of tickets available for each event is very
limited and pre-booking is essential. All attendees must wear a face mask and respect
social distancing measures.

The European Archaeology Days in Malta are coordinated by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage (SCH).

STQARRIJA BIL-MALTI/ PRESS RELEASE IN MALTESE