[MUSIC] Embedded in the sacred precinct of the Temple of we found these pierced stone. What is this stone? This stone is an anchor stone. It's an ancient anchor stone. We know the typology from the temples in Phoenicia from Byblos from Ugarit. In Byblos especially, there is a temple which has a step in the four court which is paved with stones like these. This is an anchor stone. There is a major hole, with the main rope connected to the ship. And there is a smallest pierced hole which was for a smallest rope. Which was used in the event that the anchor stone remained stuck in the bottom of the sea. And they wanted to take it again to the ship. Why is this stone important? Because the monument which is now embedding it, which is now containing it. Was built several centuries after the stone arrived here. Because it is dated from comparisons to the last century of the 2nd millennium B.C.. But it was laid in this wall between the 7th and the 6th century B.C. So what does this mean? It means that this stone, the anchor stone, was a symbol and it was brought here by the earliest Phonecians. It was kept in the Temple of Astarte, which is just ten meters far away to the east. And at the end of its long history, it was embedded into the sacred precinct. This is a witness of the earliest foundation of. It is a aligning demonstration of the arrival of Phoenicians towards the end of the second millennium BC on this island in Sicily. Another amazing find was on the outer wall of the terminals. And you see it is a stone with a pierced stone. This is actually an anchor stone. And a very rare and ancient anchor stone. The anchor stone was set into the wall not far away from the Temple of Astarte. And it is possible that actually it was dedicated into this temple in its earlier stages. And as the circular wall was built it was moved from the temple into the building. Also, the stones like this had a meaning of protection as they were included into the wall. The stone has a big hole for the main rope to the ship. And a small one which is for disentangling the anchor stone when it happen that it was blocked in the bottom of the sea. We have comparisons. We have comparisons in the Near East. We have comparisons in the Levant. The most striking comparison is the temple of the anchor stones in Byblos. Where the whole basement of the temple was made by these kind of stones. And here we are in the second millennium BC. So as the circle in [INAUDIBLE] was built around the middle of the 6th century. While these stones are all usually dated between 1,500 BC and 1,000 BC. So you can imagine that we can suggest that the stone was preserved in Malta for a long time. Or it was imported as a relic of antiquity. Here you see a comparison from an Egyptian anchor found in Byblos because the concept of the stone of the anchor is the same. This is a very early kind of anchor. Now we move to another side, to the western side of the temple. Here, there is something again, surprising for the archeologist. That is at a certain point the circular wall turned in a straight way towards the south. And this was due to the presence of a huge building which was standing just aside it. And as the wall stopped, was interrupted, there were two huge stones juxtaposed. They are pear shaped, and they are possibly ancient anchors of big size. As you see, the stones are encircled by offerings and they are at the bottom of a series of drains and canals driving waters all in this point. Then there are two major buildings. There is a central corridor which is exactly in the middle, in the picture. And then on the left you have a temple which is exactly a cellar and a sanctum sanctorum and a staircase. And some subsidiary rooms on the back. And on the other side we have a building for waters with plaster in the room and a well on the back side. So it's a very strange installation but again connection with waters and with secret activities. Perhaps it's easier to look it from the top. And here you see very easily the anchor stones which are aligned with the the wall of the terminals. And you see also that there was a field of offerings around these stones. We found many items, many animals sacrificed. And the weapons, and the weights, and so on. And we also found a comparison in for this way of putting the stones in the floor in a temple. And on the other side you see here the building for water with this plaster, this is a pool. And some very amazing finds which are done in this area. That means that votive objects were produced in the temple. This is a mold for producing terracotta, a votive terracotta that then was dedicated into the temple. Also this is another mold showing as you see from one side, a sphinx killing a young, naked man. And on the other side, a woman which has this dress, this typical headdress. Which is of course, in a Greek style, but it points to a high priestess or a goddess. So, very interesting, these finds, and very nice that we found the mounts. So that means that they were producing these terracottas for worshippers into the temple. Now, we move to the cella. The cella had in the middle, we did some sandings. And in the middle there was an altar stone which was used of course for religious offices. While to the right you see there is a huge slab for sacrifices of animals, for slaughtering animals. Because there are holes for letting blood to go out through this drain. Again, in the corner of this building, we found a extraordinary object that we will deal with in the next lesson. [NOISE]
