Maltese 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 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]