Tarxien Cemetery phase

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Maltese Prehistoric Chronology
(Based on recalibrated radiocarbon dating)
Period Phase Dates BC c.
Neolithic
(5,000-4,100 BC)
Għar Dalam
5,000-4,300 BC
Grey Skorba
4,500-4,400 BC
Red Skorba
4,400-4,100 BC
Temple Period
(4,100–2,500 BC)
Żebbuġ
4,100–3,700 BC
Mġarr
3,800-3,600 BC
Ġgantija
3,600-3,200 BC
Saflieni
3,300-3,000 BC
Tarxien
3,150-2,500 BC
Bronze Age
(2,500–700 BC)
Tarxien cemetery
2,500–1,500 BC
Borġ in-Nadur
1,500–700 BC
Baħrija
900–700 BC

The Tarxien Cemetery phase is one of the eleven phases of Maltese prehistory. It is named for the Bronze Age burials on the site of the Tarxien temple complex near the village of Ħal Tarxien.

The Tarxien Cemetery phase, from approximately 2500 to 1500 BCE, follows the Tarxien phase, the last phase of the Temple period during which the principal megalithic temples of Malta were built. The culture is characterised not by large-scale temple building, but by dolmens and cremation cemeteries.[1]

References

  1. ↑ A. Bonanno, T. Gouder, C. Malone and S. Stoddart (1990) Monuments in an Island Society: The Maltese Context. World Archaeology 22 (2, Monuments and the Monumental, October 1990): 190-205. (subscription required)