e  hMaltese prehistoric chronology
(Based on recalibrated radiocarbon dating)
Period Phase Dates BC c.
Neolithic
(5000–4100 BC) 		Għar Dalam 5000–4500 BC
Grey Skorba 4500–4400 BC
Red Skorba 4400–4100 BC
Temple Period
(4100–2500 BC) 		Żebbuġ 4100–3800 BC
Mġarr 3800–3600 BC
Ġgantija 3600–3000 BC
Saflieni 3300–3000 BC
Tarxien 3000–2500 BC
Bronze Age
(2500–700 BC) 		Tarxien Cemetery 2500–1500 BC
Borġ in-Nadur 1500–700 BC
Baħrija 900–700 BC

The Tarxien phase is one of the eleven phases of Maltese prehistory. It is named for the temple complex discovered near the village of Ħal Tarxien, and now recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.[1]

The Tarxien phase, from approximately 3150 to 2500 BCE,[citation needed] follows the Saflieni phase and is the last phase of the Temple period, during which the principal megalithic temples of Malta were built.[2]

References

  1. ^ World Heritage List: Megalithic Temples of Malta. UNESCO. Accessed February 2014.
  2. ^ 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)
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