Prehistoric Sites of Malta – Ħal-Saflieni

The Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum — a complex of chambers cut from the living rock across three levels. The oldest sections date to around 4,000 BC; the site remained in use until approximately 2,500 BC. Discovered in 1902, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980. To the upper left: the issuing state "MALTA" and the year "2022"; below the design: the inscription "ĦAL-SAFLIENI HYPOGEUM" and the date range "4000 – 2500 BC".

Deep beneath the district of Paola, in Malta's capital region, lies one of humanity's oldest underground cult sites. The Hypogeum of Ħal Saflieni was created during the Neolithic period and was carved over centuries into the limestone rock across three levels. Its oldest sections date back to around 4000 BC; the site remained in use until roughly 2500 BC. In its chambers, niches and halls, thousands of burials and elaborate ochre wall paintings have been discovered, offering insight into a society about whose language, belief system and social organisation little is known with certainty. The architectural precision of the vaults, which apparently mimic above-ground temple structures of Maltese megalithic culture, makes the Hypogeum one of the most remarkable buildings of Neolithic Europe.

In 1902, a construction worker stumbled upon the site by chance during excavation work; systematic archaeological investigations followed in the decades that followed. Owing to its exceptional preservation and cultural-historical significance, UNESCO added the Hypogeum of Ħal Saflieni to the World Heritage List in 1980. Malta, which packs an extraordinary density of prehistoric sites into a very small area, honours this heritage with its own coin series: the 2022 2-euro commemorative coin dedicated to the Hypogeum of Ħal Saflieni was issued as part of the Prehistoric Sites of Malta series, bringing one of the world's oldest surviving sanctuaries to the attention of a wide audience.