Last Updated on Thursday, 10 June, 2021 at 9:28 am by Andre Camilleri
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.
